The plant will reduce the amount of garbage being sent to the dump, Quebec City officials say. (CBC)

The construction of a new $57 million waste transformation plant in Quebec City will help reduce green-house gas emissions, officials announced on Thursday.

Construction of the plant, which will convert organic matter such as table scraps into biofuel, is expected to begin this summer.

The bulk of the cost will be paid for by the city, with the federal government kicking in $17.7 million and the province adding an additional $16.5 million.

Fuel produced by the plant could theoretically be used to power up to 150 public transit buses for a year, said Quebec City Mayor Régis Labeaume.

"It’s just a question of technology — are the buses able to accept the biogas and use it," Labeaume said.

A similar plant is already in operation in Toronto and plans to build one in Rivière-du-Loup were announced by the federal government earlier this month.

This type of technology offers additional uses for organic waste, said Mathieu Painchaud of the Quebec City Regional Council for the Environment.

"Usually, we make only compost out of it, now we can make energy out of it, plus compost," Painchaud said.

Construction of the plant is expected to be completed in 2013.

By then, Quebec City’s green-bin collection program will have been expanded.

Compost pick-up will be offered to 70 per cent of residential homes and buildings of under six units, officials said.