Collingwood votes no to Tiny

By Morgan Ian Adams Collingwood Enterprise Bulletin Sept 18, 2009 
Councillors have decided not to back a bid by Tiny Township to shut down Site 41.
On Monday, councillors debated a resolution from the municipality that would have been one of four in north Simcoe to send their trash to the controversial landfill; county councillors voted last month to put a one-year moratorium on work at the site.

Councillor Sonny Foley, in response to a resolution on council’s agenda from Tiny, put the motion on the table with the help of Mayor Chris Carrier; he had attempted to get other councillors to second the motion, but finding no takers made the comment that some councillors who professed to support ’sustainability’ evidently did not.
Tiny’s motion called on all municipalities in Simcoe County to support closing the site, and requesting the province revoke the site’s certificate of approval.
The resolution also asks the county to undertake — in consultation with municipalities — a county-wide waste management master plan with an aim to reduce waste throughout the county.
However, his motion didn’t get much support, and was defeated.
“The motion is a little premature,” noted Councillor Tim McNabb. “The county needs to discuss what its long-term plan is for waste management.
“Until they do that, eliminating any potential landfill sites does not make sense.”
He added the county has invested millions in the study, approvals, and finally, developing the site, “and to go in and just close it down… we would be back into the same arguments.”
County council is expected to discuss the matter at its Sept. 22 meeting.
Councillor Ian Chadwick also spoke against the motion, also taking umbrage with Foley’s comment that councillors who didn’t support the motion didn’t support the principles of sustainability.
“I have not seen all the studies from the county, nor any of the documentation from those opposed,” said Chadwick, adding closing Site 41 could put a renewed emphasis on opening Site 42 in Clearview Township — which is located near the end of the runway of the Collingwood Regional Airport, and is also on the fringe of the Alliston Aquifer, one of the main arguments for stopping Site 41.