Plans to expand Elliot Lake’s dump are ready to move ahead after the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) gave the green light to the expansion plan.
“The City had an environmental assessment done in 2016 … by EXP on the expansion of the landfill,” the city’s manager of environmental services Daryl Halloch told Elliot Lake Today during a recent tour of the landfill site on Scott Road. “The (MOECC) approved the expansion in December of 2017.”
The cost to develop and put the expansion plan in place is estimated at between $1.5 million to $3 million. The planned expansion will be to the southeast of the current area where garbage is dumped and will take up about .79 hectares in addition to the 6.15 hectares now being used. The overall increase in what is termed the landfill “footprint” is about 13 percent.
EXP, in its study, looked at various options to handle the city’s garbage and recycling, including incineration and creating a new dump site. In the end the firm recommended the plan which is expected to be in place in the near future. The current landfill is expected to reach capacity by 2024. With the expansion the lifespan is expected to add an additional 20 to 25 years with the potential to increase that.
Pinchin Ltd. is working with the city on hydrological studies and annual reporting to determine where to install future where to install future well sites for water sampling to monitor water quality coming off the site., Halloch said.
The city currently sees about 6,500 tonnes buried annually.
“The landfill operating budget for 2018 is around $415,000 which includes waste and recycling contracts as well as the landfill operation and consulting,” Halloch added.
Operation of the landfill is currently handled by K J Beamish Construction.
Halloch said the plan also includes enhancing recycling of items going to the dump, including an increase in compostable waste from households, condos and apartment buildings. All indications are the city could benefit from provincial funding in increased recycling efforts.
“Working with Stewardship Ontario on a province-wide recycling program, which when approved, will help fund the city helping with costs of source separation products, education and promotion and more city-wide bins,” he said. “The enhanced recycling program will help increase the city’s current diversion rate of 20 percent to an optimistic range of 70 percent.”
“The result of this will also increase the expanded landfill life from 20 to 25 years to 30 to 40 years, saving taxpayers money as future expansion or the creation of a new landfill site will be very costly,” Halloch added. “We are also working to design enhanced yard, leaf waste and composting programs which will increase the diversion rate.
The city may also look at limiting curbside waste pickup to two bags.
EXP, in its report, estimated the creation of a new dump would cost an estimated $5 million.
In the work now being done, Halloch and the city has hired co-op student Paige Dunbar a University of Waterloo environmental engineering student and resident of Elliot Lake.
Halloch has worked with the city for the past 13 years before taking on his current position late last year.