Recycling firm faces Oro-Medonte residents

Most of the material would come from Toronto
By NATHAN TAYLOR, THE PACKET & TIMES
The 60 people who attended a public meeting Tuesday night in Oro-Medonte Township learned a lot about what a recycling company is not interested in.

Ontario Recycling, which is proposing a facility at 18 Small Cres., is not interested in hazardous or liquid waste, onsite waste treatment and onsite waste disposal.
Also, “we’re not interested in not communicating with our neighbours,” said Fred Taylor, a professional engineer with Conestoga-Rovers and Associates, which is representing Ontario Recycling.
What it is interested in is living up to its “good neighbour policy.”
“It’s worked very well for us in Toronto,” Taylor said of the sister facility there — an operation that would be similar to what’s being proposed in Oro-Medonte.
Ontario Recycling wants to build two facilities — one for sorting (8,500 square feet) and one for storage (9,700 square feet) — on a 4.2-acre site. The operation would receive, sort and ship out construction and some demolition waste, such as wood, drywall, cardboard, metal, concrete, plastic, glass and mixed waste.
Most of the material would come from Toronto.
A maximum 500 tons per day (two to three trucks per hour) would travel to and from the site — utilizing Highway 11, Line 14, 15/16 Sideroad and Small Crescent — between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Environmental and political watchdog group AWARE Oro-Medonte asked Ontario Recycling to hold a public meeting to answer questions and address concerns from the public. The company agreed, and the meeting took place Tuesday at Old Town Hall on Line 7.
Many of the questions asked were pre-empted by a slideshow, which addressed concerns raised before the meeting — such as dust, odours, noise, soil and groundwater.
Small Crescent would be paved; there would be no organic waste; and almost all of the company’s operations would take place indoors, Taylor said.
Others wondered about the impact on wildlife.
“I like birds and bunnies as much as anyone else,” Taylor told the crowd, adding the property would be fenced and there would be regular inspections of the grounds.
One resident of Small Crescent asked, “Who monitors it two years down the road (to ensure) you’re still complying with all the regulations?”
That would be up to the company, Taylor replied, but added anyone is welcome to visit the facility and there would be some expected oversight from the township and the Ministry of the Environment.
Ontario Recycling representatives even suggested quarterly meetings be held, in a fashion similar to what took place Tuesday night.
Many of the questions were about residual material — the non-recyclable stuff that ends up at the facility.
Excess waste typically goes to a company in Buffalo, N.Y., that converts it to energy.
One man asked how the creation of the facility would impact property values in the area.
Taylor could not answer, saying he was not in the real-estate business. But Joyce Delong is.
Based on what was being proposed, Delong, who was in the audience, doubted there would be any significant impact on property values.
Ruth Fountain was concerned about runoff to Lake Simcoe, even that which would occur as a result of paving Small Crescent.
“A complete environmental assessment is necessary before this is approved,” she said.
Minimal runoff (from dust, for example) could be expected, but that’s what the onsite storm water/fire pond is for.
“There will be no degradation in terms of the amount of runoff from the site,” Taylor said. “We believe we addressed that properly.”
Engineering designs and permit applications were completed in 2010. The goals this year are to get all the necessary permits and start construction. Ideally, the company would start operations in 2011-12, Taylor said.