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Once the landfill site in the former Town of Kincardine is closed in a
couple of years, the main dump will be in Armow. That's the decision by
Kincardine council in committee-of-the-whole March 4.
Jim Yardley of Conestoga-Rovers presented his report regarding the
feasibility of a transfer station in Ward 1 (Kincardine) which would
accept bagged garbage, Blue Box recycling and yard waste.
He outlined the pros and cons of a transfer station. The advantages
would be: providing a site for continued collection of three major
components of waste; providing a place to take yard waste which is not
collected at curbside; providing a maintenance facility in the Ward 1
urban area; and no additional staff is required.
The disadvantages would be: collecting two streams of waste already
being picked up curbside; initial capital cost of $150,000 and annual
operating costs of $50,000.
Given the additional cost, the public works committee on Feb. 10,
recommended that council close the Ward 1 landfill when it reaches
capacity and establish the main landfill at Armow in Ward 2 (former
Township of Kincardine). Post-closure, the Ward 1 site could be used as
a passive recreational area (off-leash dog park and toboggan hill) and a
fire-training area. A public meeting is tentatively scheduled for
Saturday, May 30, to discuss the proposal.
Deputy mayor Laura Haight, chairperson of the public works committee,
said council may want to get input from the Kincardine Business
Improvement Area, the Chamber of Commerce and the economic development
committee. "You could end up with quite a crowd at that public meeting,"
she said. "This represents a huge change in service. By the way, I'm
opposed to the public works recommendation."
"Completely closing the Ward 1 landfill is a significant change in
municipal operations," agreed councillor Kenneth Criag.
"We're not cutting services," said councillor Ron Hewitt. "They're all
available at the Ward 2 site, but the urban area will have to drive
there so it's not as convenient. We didn't think it (transfer station)
was a service we could afford."
(next column)
11/03/2009 07:26 PM
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"Would it be a full-time site at Ward 2?" asked councillor Mike Leggett.
"It would be six days per week - full-time, like Ward 1 is now," said
Haight.
"We're trying to promote recycling but we're making it more difficult,"
said councillor Guy Anderson. "When we close the Ward 1 landfill site,
we'll be saving money there. Without a transfer station, it'll be an
inconvenience to our largest population base."
"If people miss the Blue Box recycling day, they're not driving to Armow,"
said Haight. "They'll throw it in the garbage. As for the reuse centre
(at the Ward 1 site), people are going to say, forget it, and throw the
stuff in the ditch." She said it boils down to the fact that council is
asking people to spend more on driving to Armow to take their junk to
the dump.
Craig said up to 200 cars per day visit the Ward 1 landfill site.
"That's significant traffic," he said. "I support option seven - a full
transfer station at the Ward 1 site. "In this day and age, with the cost
of a new landfill site, fuel, and recycling, why would council stop at
less than 100 per cent of what we could do at the time?"
Mayor Larry Kraemer supported the public works recommendation. "We need
to have one landfill site that is properly and professionally operated,
with regular hours. That's the number one requirement, and that's best
accomplished by utilizing the Ward 2 site."
Yardley said the Ward 1 landfill site will commence closure in the fall
of 2010, with completion by the fall of 2011. The closure includes the
final cover, general clean-up and decommissioning, with post-closure
operation, maintenance and monitoring.
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