Occasional opening of landfill will cost big bucks

January 8, 2014 · 0 Comments

Melancthon Township might own its padlocked landfill site, but township council was to learn Thursday that it does not control what it does with it except to set aside funds for an eventual closure and to pay dearly for approval to do anything in the interim.

Not only does the township lack control, but just to open the gates a couple of days a week for township residents to deposit a few items not eligible for garbage pickup would cost taxpayers a possible $20,000 or more for a start, and possibly almost $1,100 a month thereafter.

As a result of a June 2013 ratepayer petition asking for an “occasional opening” of the gates for deposit of materials that cannot be picked up at curbside, such as burnable wood, tire depot, fence wire, steel products and such, the council asked the Ministry of Environment about the possibility of creating a transfer station at the site, an idea that it had previously mulled.

According to a report by CAO Denise Holmes based on information from Gary Tomlinson of the MOE, the concept would require an approval that would cost $1,400 for the filing.

But that was just the beginning. Filling out a 100-page application and paying $1,400 for the privilege might not have been a problem, but MOE would also require a hydrogeologist’s design and operation plan for the station. That cost, according to the township’s hydrogeologist, would run to as much as $10,000.

Then there would need to be fencing of the site within the fenced dump, a bin for the burnable wood, disposal fees for the wood, and a host of other costs that totalled as much as $21,400.

To open the station two days a week would cost an estimated $12,808 annually, according to the CAO’s research into the issue.

Wood and metal would likely be the only items taken to the station.

Ms. Holmes pointed out that the county’s waste guide lists several tire dealers in Dufferin County that would take the tires back.

Bale wrap is a big item in the area. But the recycler says it prefers to pick up the wrap at the farms, rather than at a central point, and wants it placed in bags that it supplies.

By Wes keller