WELLINGTON COUNTY – The Elora waste facility will temporarily close from April 5 until December for the construction of a $2.89-million county project.
Funds were first allocated in 2021 in the county’s capital budget plan for the improvement project.
According to county solid waste services manager Das Soligo, the budget estimate was increased due to inflation in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
“We’ve been budgeting for this project for a number of years, but we were waiting on some approvals from the Ministry of the Environment,” Soligo told the Advertiser.
Site enhancements will include:
- site grading and reconfiguration for easier access to bins;
- installation of weigh scales for standardized operations;
- construction of a new household hazardous waste building and scale house; and
- an enlarged drop-off area and a replacement retaining wall for improved safety and site operations.
According to Soligo, the Elora site is the county’s busiest waste facility, receiving over 90,000 visits a year.
The Belwood site, which will temporarily serve those impacted by the Elora closure, is the county’s second busiest site.
“We advise people that weekends are going to be particularly busy, and we encourage people to use the roadside service for their weekly waste disposal needs,” he said.
The Belwood site, at 8585 Wellington Road 19, will operate five days a week (Tuesday to Saturday) starting April 8.
Waste facility staff will also be on hand for traffic management where necessary, Soligo added.
Asked if he is concerned about increased visits to the Belwood site, he stated, “We closed all our sites temporarily when COVID first hit and following the reopening we took some measures and learned some lessons.”
“We can certainly apply various traffic management techniques if required.”
In a March 24 news release from the county, solid waste services committee chair Steve O’Neill stated the Elora upgrades “have been part of our long-term planning to ensure we continue to provide high-quality waste services to our residents.
“By modernizing the site and implementing a diversion centre model, we can divert more materials from landfill, helping to extend the lifespan of our county-owned landfill in Riverstown (Wellington North).”
Financial implications
The improvements were originally budgeted at $1.35 million, but the project bid was ultimately awarded to Mississauga-based Verly Construction Group Inc. for a total price of $2.89-million in November.
Verly’s base bid price was $2.4 million, with a provisional total of $489,000. The base price includes a contingency allowance of $250,000 for any additional work ordered by the county that falls outside the contract.
“Once the actual tender results were received, we kept on adjusting the county budget to account for those higher increases,” explained Soligo.
According to a Nov. 12 solid waste services committee report, the county will borrow money to cover the funding adjustments required to move forward with the work.
“The county will have to issue $685,000 in tax-supported debt, anticipated to be amortized over 10 years and an additional $835,000 (for a total of $1.635 million) in development charge supported debt,” stated the report.
The tax-supported debt is estimated to have an annual cost of approximately $83,400 (starting in 2026-27) and the DC-supported debt is an anticipated cost of $148,300, to be recovered by development charges.
Funds will also be drawn from the solid waste services capital reserve, stated Soligo.
Residents can stay informed about the project and reopening timeline by visiting wellington.ca/waste-facilities.
