It was not unanimous, but Wellington North council is allowing the relocation of Waste Management’s operations from Sligo Road into Mount Forest’s industrial park.
Following a public meeting on Monday night, council here passed a zoning amendment to allow the operations in Mount Forest’s industrial park at Part Lot 32, Concession 1, Division 3.
The 3.63-acre property owned by Waste Management of Canada Corp. is located at the western terminus of Industrial Drive.
The amendment creates site specific zoning in the industrial zone to permit a waste transfer and processing facility. Solid, non-hazardous waste would be brought to the site by small trucks, then reloaded onto larger ones for more efficient transportation to a final destination. Some recycling is also proposed.
Tim Murphy, director of environmental protection for Waste Management, presented the company’s case.
The amendment is part of the process in which the company has submitted an application to the Ministry of the Environment to obtain a certificate of approval for the property. Once the zoning is done (following a 20 day appeal period), and the MOE issues a permit, the facility will be able to receive up to 200 tonnes of recyclables and transfer up to 299 tonnes of waste per day.
Murphy said, “The waste would come in; and the waste would go out.” He said numerous aspects of the operation are controlled through the Planning Act and the MOE certificate of approval – one of which is a requirement for a public meeting. That meeting, Murphy said, was held at the company’s current location at 200 Sligo Road.
At that time, he said there were numerous positive comments in terms of potential jobs, general upgrading, and in terms of layout and design. He said concerns were raised about its proposed location in an industrial area, as well as what types of materials would be brought to the facility. One aspect of the facility will include a community drop off for recyclables.
Murphy said another part of the process includes tours of the company’s facility in Waterloo – which he describes as more substantial in size and the amount of transfer activity.
He added that one letter of objection was sent to the MOE but not received by council, but he believes those concerns can be addressed.
Currently Waste Management processes recyclables and ships directly to commodity markets. The intent is to relocate those operations away from residential properties and schools. In addition, the company plans to build a transfer station beside the recycling facility. Collection trucks that currently pick up waste from its customers will now be able to unload indoors and have waste compacted into larger vehicles. That will decrease travel time and fuel use. The larger trailer will ship solid waste out of Mount Forest into a Waste Management certified dump.
Murphy said the proposed building is slightly bigger than 20,000 square feet and costs roughly $4-million.
“Outside it will look no different than the township’s maintenance building [in Kenilworth],” he said.
When the facility is in operation, the large bay doors would be open. Early start up times will allow for materials to be picked up before heavy traffic buildup. Murphy added that also allows for multiple pickup and delivery. Areas to be served by the facility would include Wellington, Grey, Bruce, Huron, Dufferin, and Perth Counties.
Murphy said that the facility would not be used to process waste from larger urban areas.
“It is limited to the rural counties around Mount Forest,” he said.
The new facility is likely to employ another 25 people, which Murphy said would push the local workforce up to about 90 people.
Murphy said there will be a misting system in place, intended to neutralize potential odours. However, the best way to avoid odours, is to have the materials on the move – so there is no time for anything to decay or decompose on site.
The intended disposal site is the company’s Warwick landfill. It is located in Warwick Township in Lambton County. The leachate collection and treatment system is leading technology and will include collection galleries, pumping stations, equalization tank, reverse osmosis leachate treatment facility, treated effluent storage ponds, a 20-hectare poplar plantation, and a complete monitoring and contingency program.
The gas collection system will be expanded to include an energy-from-waste electrical generation facility that will be capable of producing enough electricity to power over 3,200 homes for more than 50 years.
Planner Mark Van Patter said the issue first came up over a year ago, when he discussed with the township solicitor if such an operation would qualify as an industrial use.
Van Patter said he is no expert on waste management, but the proposal clearly states the intent to process only solid, non-hazardous materials. He said that from a view of society, placing the operation in an industrial park seems a better choice than near residential areas.
Based on what is proposed, his number crunching worked out to a total of six trucks per hour entering and leaving the site. While he noted there are some issues related to how the facility is located – official road frontage and landscaping within the setback area, Van Patter has no real concern with the proposal.
The zoning amendment is to be explicit about the future use of the property, he said.
Paul Droog, on behalf of his father Ted, had concerns with potential runoff from the site towards his father’s property. He said the concern stems from potential leachate on site. He asked if there is a better option "than a transfer station in the middle of Mount Forest."
Mount Forest resident Katherine Dipple wanted to know what steps are planned to prevent garbage from leaving the site – to adjacent properties.
Waste Management’s district manager Gary Lewis said the facility has a storm water management plan that includes a containment pond. However, he said that part of the plan is for runoff from the building. The waste itself will be contained in the building.
The materials will be contained by a roof and walls and will limit materials blowing away. However, fencing at the perimeter of the property is also required – not only to limit materials from leaving the site, but for security.
The certificate of approval requires plans for daily litter cleanup, Lewis said. Seagulls are attracted to open landfill areas, but he believes it highly unlikely they will be attracted to an indoor operation.
Councillor Bob Mason was one of those who took the tour of the Waterloo facility.
"It was a clean site. There were no odours – or seagulls.
While councillor Ross Chaulk said the proponents did a commendable job, "I still feel it would be better located in Riverstown [the county dump site] than in Mount Forest."
When asked about any potential of bringing in hazardous materials, Murphy stated any such move would require a change to the company’s certificate of approval from the MOE – and one of the first moves would be to see what the municipal zoning allows.
The zoning application includes only solid, non-hazardous waste as defined by the MOE. He added Waste Management does not have any hazardous waste operations in Canada, although there are some in the United States.
When council later voted on the amendment, only Chaulk opposed the zone change. Councillor John Matusinec was absent.
