By Jenn Watt

Published Nov. 26 2019

With landfills approaching capacity and costs increasing for recycling services the environment and climate change committee has recommended to Dysart et al council that it develop a waste management strategy.
Rob Camelon director of public works told councillors at the committee’s Nov. 14 meeting that decisions would need to be made about level of service and what to do when the landfills are closed.
The Haliburton landfill is set to become a transfer station meaning all garbage will be trucked out in 2020. Similar decisions will soon need to be made about West Guilford’s facility.
“There’s going to be a ripple effect for outlying areas after that” Camelon said.
It was recommended that Jp2g Consultants be approached to give a quote on creating the report and that a workshop take place involving all councillors where the future of waste disposal can be fleshed out.

“I don’t think it’s going to be too daunting of a task for him [the consultant] to provide three or four different options of what we could do with our sites” Camelon said.

Councillor John Smith who is chair of the committee said that changes need to happen soon and pointed out that there aren’t many controls on the volumes of recyclables and waste businesses are dumping.
“It’s urgent because we’re going to face ever-increasing costs and the likelihood that whether it’s [a local waste collector] or somebody else or it’s existing users who are bringing too much stuff to our landfill sites we’ve got to find some ways of making that go away or making them pay the freight. Because right now it’s a quarter million dollars on our residential taxpayers” Smith said.
Earlier in the meeting bids for Dysart’s Blue Box content were presented showing estimated annual costs of $238222 for 2020 if council follows staff recommendations to contract Mid Ontario Disposal.

“Every community is filled with landfill sites that opened shortly after the Second World War and they’re full or … almost full” Smith said. “There’s been very few ones have been opened in recent years and consequently the landfill capacity in terms of public facilities is very limited.”
He said that this past summer a hauler was hired at Kennisis Lake which took waste to a private landfill in Chatham more than 500 kilometres away.
“Something’s got to give” said Smith.