The Durham Region (Ontario, Canada) has been given the green light by the province to begin construction of its waste-to-energy facility. Council approval is still required before construction starts on the energy-from-waste facility that will handle up to 140,000 tons of Durham and York Region garbage per year. That’s likely to happen at a special meeting in July, after councillors review staff reports and conditions attached to the certificate of approval just issued by the Ministry of the Environment. It covers operational requirements for air, noise, waste and storm water. Calling the ministry’s decision on the waste-to-energy facility “historic,” regional chair Roger Anderson said Durham is poised to become a “provincial leader in the area of waste management.” Residents expect a clean and safe facility, “and that’s how we intend to build it,” he said. Roger Anderson was a keynote speaker at NAWTEC this year in Lancaster. Covanta, which will build and operate the facility, is expected to begin construction this fall.