Even councillor Lou Maieron admitted the debate on waste collection at the Feb. 23 county council meeting could be his “swan song.”
Maieron, well known for his court battles and the vindication of his treatment of a swan named Brutus, failed to gain a similar result in convincing county councillors that Erin should be receiving what he calls “equal treatment” for waste collection services.
The solid waste services committee had considered the option of keeping open transfer stations in Mapleton, Aberfoyle and Belwood, and closing all the others and moving to bi-weekly pick-up of blue box materials and garbage bags in rural areas.
Instead, the committee recommended the county continue with its current transfer station operations.
County engineer Gord Ough’s report showed it would cost an extra $100,000 to $200,000 per year to make the switch to bi-weekly pick-up in rural areas, and he also noted there would likely be future pressures to increase that pick-up as urban people move to the countryside.
Maieron felt so impassioned about his proposal to “equalize service” across the county he wrote a speech to argue in its favour.
He said Erin pays over $500,000 a year for garbage operations, but its transfer station is closed. He said Guelph-Eramosa has rural pick-up, the result of it taking part in a pilot project that demonstrated most rural areas do not want garbage pick-up. That project took in Minto, which rejected collection in favour of a transfer station.
But Maieron said while the county accepted the recommendations in a turn-of-the-century report when it took over garbage collection from the lower tier municipalities, it did not implement all of those recommendations.
He said the report recommended closing the Elora and Rothsay stations, and that has never happened.
“We seem to have stalled out on unequal services,” he said. “Some residents have two options and others have one.”
He suggested if such inequalities continue, the service should be treated like streetlights, and be area rated, meaning that those who enjoy the services pay for them.
Maieron also suggested the issue is a “political” one, and, “I don’t think it’s fair.”
When he was first elected, the county had already planned a transfer station near Ospringe that would have served residents in Erin and Guelph-Eramosa. Maieron led the charge, and has stated he was elected on the issue of opposing it.
The county eventually killed that proposal and was later forced to close the Hillsburgh transfer station, a former landfill, because of contamination problems.
Maieron said, “Ospringe died five years ago. Erin didn’t want it.”
Maieron said it is unfair that Elora residents have a nearby transfer station when the original plan was to have transfer stations in rural areas.
“It’s really a discussion on fairness and service levels,” he said.
Councillor Ken Chapman was on Erin council when the Ospringe transfer station was proposed.
He said he keeps hearing Erin opposed that plan when residents actually opposed only the site the county selected. He said it appeared, “Consultants had it in their minds that’s where it was going to go.”
Chapman said there were “four or five other sites not even looked at.”
But councillor Gord Tosh disagreed. He said the county considered several sites and some were not suitable, while others had owners who did not wish to sell the land.
“An old quarry seemed to be the best way to go,” Tosh said of the site selected near the corner of County Roads 124 and 125.
Tosh challenged Maieron’s numbers and said there is a lot more to solid waste service than just collection and disposal. He cited environmental costs to ensure other dumps do not leak.
“There was a lot of money spent to correct that. That half million dollars [from Erin] – there’s a lot goes to that.”
He cited costs for fencing, cleanup and moving garbage and sealing off rotting waste.
Solid waste services committee chairman Don McKay, who was not on council when the Ospringe site was considered, thanked Tosh for the explanation.
McKay said part of the problem is the extra cost, and he noted solid waste services spending is down in this year’s budget. He also said an auto recycler in Erin has been willing to take a great deal of material. The county attempted to reach a formal agreement with that owner to expand the operation, but the man decided to continue operating as he is.
McKay said solid waste services personnel “have been getting unsolicited comments from across the county, and the only complaint among them are the lament “I missed my garbage pick-up.”
Warden Chris White then asked council to consider the recommendation in a separate vote requested by Maieron, and it appeared only Maieron was opposed.
Other places, issues
McKay had asked council at a previous meeting to provide information about issues his committee might want to consider this year.
Maieron forwarded the committee several reports and News articles about Dufferin County taking over solid waste services from its lower tier municipalities.
Maieron said that Dufferin, among other things, is considering standardized service for the entire county, and he added, “I do not see any development of transfer stations or landfill sites, but rather they are considering plasma-arc gasification plant, I believe in partnership with York Region.”
But McKay responded that Dufferin County has been consulting with Wellington County on its experience in taking over the service from lower tiers. He noted, “They don’t have a dump.”
The committee report said issues it will consider include:
– items to add to the blue box program;
– full recycling and demotion permits;
– options for the future, including incineration and new technologies;
– solid waste and economic development;
– processing septage;
– the chairman’s site visits;
– the Aberfoyle site in 2014 and communication with residents; and
– bag fees.
