There’s a small contingent of Erin residents that would like to see a local re-use facility in its community.
The group met on Aug. 2 at the former Erin hydro building – at the corner of Wellington Roads 23 and 124 in the north end of town – to promote the idea to local residents.
Erin Mayor Lou Maieron said that about a year ago, he was contacted by a group of local residents who wanted to know how the community could move forward on creating a re-use centre for the town.
“We have been slowly plugging away at this, gathering information and moving the idea along,” said Maieron. “Recently we took a road trip to the re-use facility in Bolton and learned that the facility generates over $300,000 per year for the social services programs of their community.”
Maieron saw the same potential in Erin, which he considered a win on several fronts; less material would end up in local landfill sites and the facility would also raise funds for local groups.
He said when the town lost its transfer station, it also lost local services to deal with bulky waste, household hazardous waste and a re-use centre.
“I always thought a re-use centre would be a great thing for items too good to go to landfill,” Maieron opined.
He added both he and the small contingent of local residents believe the development of a local re-use facility would be good for the entire community.
“We involved Allan Alls, president of EWCS (East Wellington Community Services), because that organization is involved in similar work with regards to books and clothing. But they get lots of donations of other items which they don’t have the facility to house.”
Maieron noted one of the original ideas was to work in conjunction with a private re-use facility, “But when you get the county involved, there are a number of rules which must be met.”
When the former Erin Hydro building came up for lease, Maieron said discussions were rekindled with the goal of using the site “to take items off the side of the road.”
Though there are transfer stations elsewhere in the county, Maieron said it’s not likely an Erin resident will drive to the Belwood transfer station to drop off a toaster or something similar.
Kari Simpson, EWCS executive director, pointed out the Bolton facility is operated through Caledon community services and the Region of Peel provides the space.
Maieron said Wellington County could take a similar role and cover the building rent through the county’s waste diversion fund.
He said funding could be considered as a replacement for the loss of service when the community lost its local transfer station. Maieron said he was surprised at the volume of sales at the Bolton re-use operation, which “amounts to about $300,000 each year which is funneled back to Caledon community services.”
Simpson explained that group is very similar to EWCS and Maieron said, “We thought EWCS could act as the umbrella group, with a sub-board in place to operate the facility.”
Proceeds from the proposed facility could be shared proportionately between the various groups volunteering at the re-use centre which would benefit the community at large, Maieron explained.
He admitted taking over the former hydro building would create a hardship for the local water department, which stores equipment there.
Although only the administrative portion of the building is up for rent, proponents would like use of the entire building.
However, the three truck bays are currently in use to store municipal water department equipment, meaning the town would have to find another place to store the equipment.
The mayor also noted agreement from both the county and town seems essential.
The town would have to agree to rent the building and move its water department equipment and the county would have to agree to pay the rent through its waste diversion programs. The group’s proposal has not been discussed by town or county council and the county has not been contacted with a formal proposal.
The only discussions with solid waste services at the county level was a talk about whether the concept itself was feasible – yet “Nobody said no” Maieron said.
He noted the county has money in a waste diversion fund from the province and said this project would take waste from landfill sites. He added the county transfer sites include re-use centres.
“There are many factors which have to come together to make this happen,” Maieron admitted. He said the county wanted to see a proposal before making a decision on funding.
Group member Debi Clare said the group intended to appear as a delegation at the Aug. 13 Erin council meeting to present its proposal to the town.
“We’d like to have the whole building with the truck bays for storage.” She said the re-use store would take in donated goods from the community and re-sell them, diverting items from the landfill site.
“The centre would make it affordable for people to buy items within the community. It makes the town cleaner by not having items sitting out at the end of the driveway with ‘for free’ signs,” Clare said.
She added the centre could also provide referrals to other recycling operations.
Clare said “people often don’t know what to do with these items, but at the same time don’t want to send them to the landfill site.”
Alls added, “We have a generation which is downsizing and they have a lot of possessions they need to get rid of. Often the families don’t want it. This would be an excellent place to send it and do something good for the community.”
Simpson said centres such as the one proposed have proven their effectiveness in diverting materials from local landfill sites. She said that last year, the Bolton centre helped to divert almost 73,000 kilograms from landfill.
Maieron suggested the centre could provide a place to recycle sporting goods or provide a place for high school students to earn community hours.
“We hope we can partner with the county to provide the funding and the group would run it at arm’s length,” the mayor said. He considered the building a great location, but noted, “I understand (municipal) staff may have some issues in relocating.”
Simpson said “this is a big project to take on and we need the support from the community. Even when it is up and running you are looking at 25 volunteers to help run it, plus some full-time staff to keep it going. Community participation is going to be key.”
The proposed facility would operate separately from the EWCS books and clothing sales, officials noted. Simpson said she believes the proposed centre would involve larger items such as furniture, household items and other items.
Maieron pointed out that so far the concept has only been explored by a small group, which is now searching for more community support.
Clare added organizers are hoping for as much community support as they can get when they present their case to council on Aug. 13.
Groups such as Habitat for Humanity have operated re-use stores for some time as very successful businesses. Those operations focus on building materials.
“Right now we have a lot of balls in the air,” Maieron said. “We have not presented to the county, because we haven’t had anything to present.”
Maieron said the idea of the meeting was to let people know about the concept because, “We need more community involvement.” He added if the hydro building is not an option, proponents will seek out another location.
For information contact Simpson at kari.s@ew-cs.com.
