Thanks to a local business, town residents may not have to travel to Belwood to get rid of their bulky trash or recyclable items.
Even before the May 1 closure of the county’s transfer station in Hillsburgh, Erin Auto Recyclers began accepting items ranging from tires and car batteries to metal products, fridges and freezers.
“We’ve already probably taken in 900 tires,” said Rob Smith, who owns Erin Auto Recyclers with his wife, Elayne McSkimming. “Everybody seems to be in favour of it.”
The company, located on 17th?Sideroad on the north side of Erin, soon hopes to accept electronic waste as well, including old computers, TVs, cell phones, batteries and more.
And the best part is, other than a $20 fee to remove freon from refrigerators and freezers, the services are offered free of charge.
“It’s just more of a community service than anything,” Smith said.
He came up with the idea after reading about the impending closure of the transfer station, as well as some of the arguing about where Erin residents could take items not included in the new regular garbage and recycling pick-ups.
“We already have all the permits in place,” he said of his family-run business, which has been operating since 1958. “It just seemed natural to do it here.”
County councillor Lou Maieron, who accepts branches and brush (to be chipped) as part of what he calls the “made-in-Erin solution,” liked Smith’s idea from the beginning.
Maieron noted his recent solid waste survey showed an overwhelming majority of town residents, both urban and rural, want a local recycle centre for bulky items.
“I’ve been pushing for one [for east?Wellington] … but no matter how much I tried I couldn’t make that go,” Maieron said, adding a county committee rejected the idea of a “community recycle centre” like the one in Bolton.
“I’m a little disappointed the county didn’t help us out with this,” he said. “A lot of people are wondering ‘where is all my money going.’ ”
He said Erin Auto Recyclers offers better hours than the transfer station ever did and there is even a proposal to have East Wellington Community Services operate a “re-store” of sorts on an adjacent piece of property.
EWCS would require $10,000 over two years to rent the land for a pilot project, though Maieron said there are rumblings county council will not provide any funding for that either.
Erin?Mayor Rod Finnie said there are some “road blocks” to that funding that are beyond county council’s control. But he had nothing but good things to say about Smith’s efforts.
“He’s working hard at making that an excellent alternative – and an excellent environmental alternative,” Finnie said at last week’s council meeting.
“I really think he deserves a big round of applause from us.”
Smith acknowledges his business will take in some money from the services, but stressed he’s not in it to make a profit.
“Whatever we make, we’ll put back in [to the service],” he said, adding the business also supports various causes in the community, including local Sports teams. “It’s basically the right thing to do.”
