GUELPH – Wellington County is making plans to continue contracting for recycling collection and a new transfer station in either Erin or Guelph-Eramosa is still on the radar, according to a progress report on the county’s solid waste services strategy.
An update on the strategy from solid waste services manger Das Soligo was provided to county council on Jan. 31.
The report notes that in 2016 rural curbside collection was expanded to the five member municipalities not receiving the service at the time and standardized fees were established for bagged waste delivered to waste facilities or set out for curbside collection.
The report points out the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) originally recommended extensions to municipal curbside collection and recyclable processing contracts until the implications of the Waste Free Ontario Act were better known.
“After a great deal of consultation and discussion regarding an amended blue box program plan, no changes were implemented and no further consultations initiated,” the report states.
“AMO has revised its advice and now suggests that municipalities tender these services as contracts expire, incorporating flexibility into new contracts to account for changing legislation.”
As the county’s current contract expires in June, and a one-year contract extension has been approved by council, a new contract for these services is expected to be tendered over the current term of the SWS Committee.
While the province continues to advocate transfer of collection responsibilities to waste producers, solid waste services chair Gregg Davidson told council, “the blue box program is the most complex program to transition – we may not see this anytime soon.”
Waste transfer sites
On the topic of “waste facility optimization,” the report states that direction on the future use of existing public drop-off (transfer) sites will be established through the waste management strategic plan.
Four approaches for the continuation of this analysis in 2019 have been identified:
– explore the feasibility of a new waste facility, in order to improve access to drop-off services in the eastern part of the county (i.e. Guelph-Eramosa and Erin);
– assess the impacts of decommissioning one or more waste facilities across the county;
– evaluate the ideal distribution of waste facilities across the county; and
– determine the costs and benefits of re-configuring waste facilities to improve and expand diversion drop-off options.
Landfill
An application for an interim closure of the Riverstown landfill’s Phase I will be submitted to the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP).
“Over time the landfill mound will consolidate and settle, allowing landfill capacity to be re-gained and re-utilized,” the report notes.
Phase II of the Riverstown landfill is expected to provide waste disposal capacity for the county until 2043.
“With the understanding that new waste disposal methods and technologies may emerge before capacity is reached at the Riverstown site, various waste disposal methods were assessed to determine a preferred option to evaluate all other alternatives against,” the report states. “The current preferred long-term waste disposal option is to seek approvals to develop a county-owned property, adjacent to the Riverstown landfill, for the purposes of a landfill expansion.”
Target rate
The strategy sets out a target of capturing 85 per cent of all residential recyclable materials in the county system. Currently, annual waste audits indicate Solid Waste Services captures and diverts approximately 80% of the materials accepted in the blue box program.
“In order to increase the capture rate to meet the established target, materials with lower capture rates will be prioritized and emphasized through promotion and education efforts,” the report states.
