Burnaby residents protest plans for organic waste facility at Fraser Foreshore Park

On Sunday, dozens of Burnaby residents gathered at Fraser Foreshore Park chanting "save our park" and raising signs that read "hands off our park" and save "Foreshore Park."

They were protesting plans for the construction of an organic waste facility in the park. 

"This is not acceptable. This is a green space," said resident Parvin Chami.

Residents say the City of Burnaby has moved forward with plans for a green recycling and organics facility in Fraser Foreshore Park, a protected ecosystem, without public approval. They worry the facility could negatively affect wildlife in the area and have made their opposition loud and clear for weeks.

City council initially approved next steps for the processing plant, but are now holding a special meeting Monday to reconsider the plan in response to public backlash.

"We're not going to be backing down until we hear the official word from the city and the mayor that this project is cancelled altogether," said Burnaby resident Eudora Koh, who attended the rally. 

Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley says the decision to build the facility was not made lightly.

"To find this size of property anywhere in Burnaby is just about impossible," he said in an interview with CBC's The Early Edition on Wednesday.

"We have done an exhaustive search of other opportunities of where we might be able to do this."

Burnaby currently collects and trucks all green waste, like food scraps and yard trimmings, to a private facility in Delta, where it is then processed. The contract costs the city $3.6 million annually.

Building a compost facility in Fraser Foreshore Park would cost $180 million but city staff say it would save the city money in the long run and eliminate pollution from truck transport.

The city says the 8.5-hectare facility would be able to process 130,000 tonnes of organic waste a year.

Since the land is dedicated parkland, the city needs approval from residents to allow the compost facility to go ahead. Council is using an alternative approval process, which would require about 16,000 votes against the project to stop it. 

Residents have until April 28 to vote on the project. However, they don't have to wait that long to express their opposition.