County seeks input on waste strategy

By MIRIAM KING, QMI AGENCY Orillia Packet and Time
The shadow of Site 41 hung over the first of three public open houses hosted by the County of Simcoe and Stantec Consulting Monday.
The county outlined a list of waste options the consultant said needed further investigation. And the options were laid out on the table, followed by 35 minutes for questions.
What resulted from the 70- plus people at the Nottawasaga Inn were questions about the process, and accusations the county lacks transparency and that it isn’t sincere in its request for public input.
“We’re looking for your input, going into the future. You’re going to be part of the solution here,” said Simcoe County Warden Cal Patterson.
But many of those attendance did not agree, stating the fallout of Site 41 remains.
“This is the same kind of dog and pony show and you rushing things makes us more suspicious,” said one woman. “We don’t trust you — and you can take that back to council.”
There were complaints the public had only a few days notice of the meeting, which was described as an “add-on” to the strategic planning process; that the consultants had scheduled the meeting in New Tecumseth Township on the same night as its council meeting, and another in Wasaga Beach, also on council night.
And there were complaints that residents were being asked to file their comments by Friday, or Feb. 16 at the latest — if they want them to be included in the first round of consideration by Stantec Consulting.
“Twenty years and now you’re rushing this? You want it by Friday?” said one resident of New Tecumseth, who declined to give her name. “We’re talking about a 20-year plan. This is Monday. You want our input by Friday.”
Rob McCullough, the county’s manager of environmental services, said the county is currently diverting about 54% of its trash from landfills in 2009, through recycling and green bin programs (closer to 60%, if all diversion is included). The county has four landfills in operation, with an estimated capacity of only five to six years.
“What we’re doing is using zero-waste principles,” McCullough said, looking at ways to further increase waste diversion — but also looking at additional disposal options, since the introduction of zero waste will take time to implement, and the county is growing at a rate of 2.5% per year.
Rob Graham, project manager with Stantec, suggested a number of alternatives that could increase diversion rates closer to 70%, including going to a bi-weekly garbage collection, while maintaining weekly recyclable and green-bin pickup and switching to clear garbage bags, which would allow collectors to see if recyclables and organics were included in the waste stream.
“The whole thing is to get the public to do the right thing,” Graham said. “You make the good things convenient, and the bad things inconvenient.”
Additional waste options included shipping the waste outside of county, expanding existing operational landfill sites, or pursuing full approval for three partially approved landfill sites, including the Medonte landfill, near Coldwater, Site 12 (Sunnidale site, near the existing Nottawasaga site), and Site 42 (Georgian Triangle, just southwest of Site 41).
“There’s nothing easy about waste,” McCullough said, acknowledging that the current climate is opposed to landfilling.
“We’re looking at everything,” from new sites, to shipping waste, to introducing new waste technology, consultant Angelos Bacopoulos said of the options. One option offered as a long-term solution: approaching Durham-York Region, to participate in a planned $230-million energy-from-waste facility.
McCullough explained that there will be further meetings in May, at which public feedback will be requested — and although there is a Feb. 16 deadline for comment as this stage, “we’re not going to cut off any responses until the documents are before council.”
The documents and workbooks are available online, at wastestrategy.simcoe.ca.
The final public open house is Wednesday from 4:30-8 p.m. in Midland at the North Simcoe Sports and Recreation Centre at 527 Lens Self Boul.