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Simcoe County landfill capacity slips under 10 years

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In Council Watch
May 4th, 2016
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Simcoe County

New Tecumseth Free Press Online

Three of Simcoe County’s four remaining active landfill sites – Site 10, Nottawasaga; Site 11, Oro; and Site 13, Tosorontio – have a combined capacity of nine years, while the Collingwood site is marked for seven more, according to an update from the solid waste management department included on the May 10 council meeting.

The update, prepared by Melissa Phillips, Technical Compliance Supervisor, notes capacity calculations are based on “each site’s annual usage considering population growth, increased waste generation, and maintaining one year worth of contingency disposal capacity.”

Ms. Phillips’ writes the 2015 survey results from landfilling operations that are taking curbside garbage (Site 10, Site 11 and Site 13) have combined capacity to accept 425,641 cubic metres, the majority of which would be at the Oro dump. An annual utilization rate of approximately 20,650 cubic metres (13,754 tonnes) in 2015.

“In 2015 these combined facilities experienced an increase of over 1,000 tonnes of garbage from the previous year; however, increased densities of garbage through good landfilling practices managed to keep the remaining landfill life assessment on plan with previous assessments,” according to the update.

Simcoe County abandoned any further plans to develop new landfills following its failed last attempt to open a 50 acre North Simcoe Landfill (Site 41), which failed an assessement board review in 1989. The County persisted in its development, giving rise to wide-spread opposition (giving birth to AWARE Simcoe), and in 2009 was finally laid to rest in a County council vote.

Currently, the County is well into the planning process for an organics sorting facility and transfer station to be built on Horseshoe Road, within a County forest, in Springwater Township.

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