​Halifax plans to overhaul its composting system.

"The existing facilities are at the end of their useful life," said Matt Keliher, head of the municipality's solid waste division.

Halifax's two compost plants, in Burnside and Goodwood, were designed to handle 50,000 tonnes of food waste a year.

The facilities are now taking in 53,000 tonnes and the municipality continues to grow.

What to allow in green bins

The province has also adopted new guidelines that lengthen the time food waste should be processed before it's considered a quality compost.

A public meeting on the composting system will be held Monday at the Dartmouth Sportsplex. Halifax officials expect people will have something to say about what is allowed in the green bins.

"Knowing that residents want grass back in the system, or pet waste in the system, is extremely important to know so that staff can work to build a facility that can handle them," Keliher said.

There is also a groundswell of opinion that weekly green cart pickup, done in the summer months, should be extended into September.

That could happen before a new facility is in place.

Designing new system

"We are having warmer Septembers," said Bill Karsten, councillor for District 3, Dartmouth South-Eastern Passage,

"I've asked them to build it into the next budget."

In developing a new composting facility, Halifax could either renovate its two existing plants or build a completely new facility at a different location.

"I think officials want to find out if people are at all in tune with the idea of a waste-to-energy program," said Karsten.

Residents have until Dec. 1 to fill out an online survey about Halifax's composting system.

A report is expected to go to regional council by March 2017.