De Salaberry council has decided not to continue on with composting service following the conclusion of a three-year national pilot project.

Back in 2016, De Salaberry and the Village of St. Pierre were selected by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities to conduct a  study on whether composting in a rural setting is feasible or not. Reeve Darrel Cure says based on the results, it is not. 

Read More: De Salaberry Chosen For National Pilot Project

"We were studying to see if this was a feasible venture. However, in a rural setting, I don’t believe it is as feasible as much as what people think," he explains.

Compost pickup was offered to residents in De Salaberry, St. Pierre and the Town of Morris and has since been halted.  

According to former Reeve Marc Marion in 2016, the trial program had a budget of $850,000 with funding from the municipality, the provincial and federal governments and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

Cure says although composting in an urban setting may be feasible, he adds it’s a different story in a rural area. While he adds the community involvement was good, a lot of what they have produced is still at the landfill site, south of St. Pierre, where the municipality was selling it for $25/kg.

"I believe, in this case, many people use different methods of composting, and as far as the product re-sell in a rural setting, I believe soils and such are easy to come by so the re-sell of the product sure isn’t there."

However, Cure indicates, if the demand is there, council could someday reconsider compost pickup but he says they would not be a "compost generator."  

Read More: De Salaberry Ready To Begin Organic Composting