Toronto has signed deals with two Quebec-based companies to take nearly half of the city's treated sewage sludge over the next year, but is still scrambling to find a place for 90,000 tonnes.

The announcement comes just days before a Michigan landfill site is scheduled to stop accepting Toronto's sludge.

A Detroit-based landfill will refuse to take treated sewage sludge from Toronto starting Aug. 1.
A Detroit-based landfill will refuse to take treated sewage sludge from Toronto starting Aug. 1.
(CBC)
In May, the Detroit-area landfill owned by Republic Services abruptly cancelled its agreement with Toronto, giving the city two month's notice until it would stop accepting the waste on Aug. 1.

Each year, the landfill has been taking 160,000 tonnes of sludge from the city, using 14 trucks a day.

Since the contract was cancelled, the city has been trying to secure a deal with another company.

On Friday, the city announced a $13.5-million deal with the Quebec-based composting company Environmental Management Solutions Inc. to take a portion of the sewage. It takes effect the same day the Michigan landfill stops taking the sludge.

'This is going to be a real challenge for us'

Under the new agreement, about 50,000 tonnes of sludge will be sent to Quebec in the first year of the contract, and 35,000 tonnes in each of the following years.

Shortly after that deal surfaced, the city announced an agreement with another Quebec-based company, Ferti-val Inc. to take 20,000 tonnes next year.

Waste management officials spent the day negotiating with several companies, trying to secure someone to handle the remaining 90,000 tonnes of sludge.

"One carrier going to one place is what we budgeted for … so this is going to be a real challenge for us," said Shelley Carroll, who chairs the city's work committee.

Meanwhile, Toronto has launched a legal action against the Michigan landfill, arguing the company should be responsible for helping the city find a new site for its sludge.

Both parties are expected in court next week.

Sludge, or bio-solids, is the solid waste that remains after raw sewage is treated and the purified water is returned to the lake.