by CONNIE TABBERT
Editor
WHITEWATER REGION — A dump does exist. As does a landfill. But, there is a difference between the two, even though people say “I’m going to the dump” when they actually mean they’re going to the landfill.
A dump is a location where people basically dump garbage, said Steve Hodson, environmental services manager for the Township of Whitewater Region. There is no one at the dump to ensure garbage is sorted and the garbage is usually not covered on a regular basis.
“These places are usually in remote, northern Ontario,” he said.
A landfill is a managed location where people take their garbage, it’s sorted into various categories, such as recyclables, construction material, yard and leaf waste, and yes, just plain garbage that has to be buried.
“A landfill site is much more controlled than a dump,” he said.
There are three landfill sites in Whitewater Region — one in Cobden, another in Westmeath and the third one in the former Ross Township, so it’s called the Ross site.
The Ross site is the only one still operational, he said. Cobden closed a long time ago while Westmeath was filled to capacity in the spring of 2006.
While the Cobden site is not filled to capacity, there is just enough space for about half a year, he said. If you were to go to the Cobden site, your first impression may be that there’s lots of room, he said. However, there has to be a 30 metre buffer between where the waste is and the neighbouring property line, he explained.
Going back in history, he noted garbage in the Cobden site actually infringed on a neighbouring property, which caused a lot of disharmony between the former town and neighbour. Eventually, a provincial order from the Ministry of Environment (MOE) stated the garbage be removed and the land rehabilitated, he said.
“We had to stabilize the slopes and we hauled in thousands of cubic metres of sand and clay while we were excavating the trench at the Ross landfill,” he said. “We stabilized the slopes, improved the grade and the Cobden landfill has been covered and it’s been closed for several years.”
However, that doesn’t mean there’s no expense to the township because the two landfills are closed.
Cobden and Westmeath sites will both be monitored until the MOE says monitoring can stop, Mr. Hodson said.
A hydrogeologist takes samples out of the wells at the two sites, as well as Ross, and they are analyzed. A report is then prepared and submitted to the MOE for review, which will determine if the sites are still in compliance with the legislation.
“The largest expense is lab analysis,” Mr. Hodson said.
There are spring and fall samples taken, he added. The Westmeath analysis costs about $15,000 a year, Cobden is about $10,000 a year and Ross is between $20,000 and $25,000 a year. He’s hopeful the lab costs for Westmeath will decrease because the number of samples wanted by the MOE has been decreased.
The samples are to determine if the leachate plumes are what they should be, he said. To explain leachate, Mr. Hodson said the landfill is like a teabag. When it rains, water seeps through the garbage and soil and into the groundwater. The leachate is strong at first because it is picking up all the contaminates in the garbage, but it becomes more diluted over time, he explained.
“Leachate is blackish/green in colour and it can be strong in odour,” he said. “For most people to look at leachate, they would think, my God, what is that,” he said. “It’s high in manganese, iron, I could name a dozen trace elements, and it’s exactly what is expected from a landfill.”
Mr. Hodson has been in charge of the landfill sites since arriving in Whitewater Region 11 years ago. He’s also in charge of the waste water and water treatment plants as well as parks and recreation. Hence, the name, environmental services department.
This department operates on a budget of about three-quarters of a million dollars, he said.
Part of the budget goes towards curbside pick-up throughout the municipality for garbage and recyclables, he said. Currently, there is weekly garbage pick-up and bi-weekly recyclable pick-up.
“Rural residents in Whitewater are fortunate they get curbside collection,” he said. “It’s a large municipality with a lot of roads to travel.
“Curbside pick-up is more cost effective in urban areas, towns and cities.”
However, without curbside pick-up, the landfill site facilities would have to be drastically expanded to handle much more traffic and recyclables. The amount of garbage wouldn’t change, because it’s all taken to the landfill site now. However, recyclables are taken directly to the recycling plant in Renfrew.
Beaumen Recycling in Renfrew has the two contracts for curbside pick-up, Mr. Hodson said. The company recently provided two 40-cubic foot containers so people who do bring garbage to the site can now bring their recyclables.
When garbage is picked up at the roadside, it must be in the $3 yellow township bags.
“Those yellow bags are the only things Beaumen’s will pick up at the road,” he said, adding, “Items that won’t fit in the bag, you have to take to the site yourself.”
Mr. Hodson said while some municipalities do provide bulky item pick-up days, Whitewater won’t because he doesn’t believe it’s cost effective.
“In my experience, it’s a little cheaper to have people take it to the landfill themselves,” he said. “What I found where I used to work, was when you offered these bulky item pick-ups you would typically end up with a little landfill at the end of everybody’s driveway and it would put your contractor a month behind.
“It’s overwhelming,” he said. “We used to have to go around with a front-end loader and dump trucks. People put so much at the curb.”
Recycling can now be placed at the roadside or residents can bring it to the landfill themselves, Mr. Hodson said.
When people go to the landfill, he suggests what’s taken be sorted in such a way that when he or landfill operator Robin Burskey looks at the load, it’s easy to determine the cost.
There are various fees for bringing items to the landfill, he said. Since those who place garbage at curbside pay for bags, people who bring bags filled with garbage are also charged the bag price, which is $3. But, then there are the cubic metre charges, the construction waste and refrigerated items that must be tagged under MOE guidelines.
“It’s not a perfect system,” Mr. Hodson said. “Me and the landfill operator do the best job we can assessing the loads that come in.”
He admits there are people who complain, but for the most part, people are pretty understanding.
“It’s tough for us having to make very quick judgement calls,” he added. “Sometimes we get yelled at.”
When people come to the landfill, if the garbage is sorted, it’s so much easier to assess the load, Mr. Hodson said.
“When people come, and it’s all mixed together in the back of a half-ton, we have to look at it and figure out what is it they have to pay for,” he said. “So, it makes it tricky, but I think we do a pretty good job of it.”
If there were scales to ensure everyone was charged equally, the cost to each person would be much higher, he said.
But there are freebies at the landfill site, Mr. Hodson said. Electronics, scrap metal, tires, blue box materials, leaf and yard waste, stoves, and such, can all be brought in at no cost.
Also, the hazardous waste collection days held twice a year are also free to the residents, he said.
There is a $20 fee for those items that must be pumped and tagged, such as freezers, fridges, etc.
“Whether there’s ozone depleting gas in it or not, I have to have a licensed technician put a pump on it and put a sticker on every item,” Mr. Hodson said. “It costs me $19.75 per item, so we’re making a quarter off each item. We’re just trying to cover our costs.
“That includes air conditioners, dehumidifiers and water coolers. It’s not just fridges and freezers,” he said.
Construction material and leaf and yard waste are separated, but both are ground up and used as cover material, Mr. Hodson said.
At one time, the bush pile could be burned, but the MOE does not allow that anymore, he explained.
It costs about $20,000 for the grinding of the material, he said.
When bringing recyclables to the landfill site, Mr. Hodson noted there is one large bin for cardboard, which must be flattened or the township is paying for air to be hauled away.
As for the other recyclable items, there are compartments for mixed recycling (tin cans, plastic bottles, glass containers) and another for paper products, which is box board (cereal boxes, cracker boxes, etc), newspapers, magazines, office paper, etc.
There is a ramp walkway between the bins to allow for easy access, he said.
Another cost to the department is the salary, which is for Mr. Burskey and Mr. Hodson.
Then there is the staff and attendant buildings. The attendant building is used when the landfill site is open, while the staff building has the amenities required, such as a washroom and kitchenette.
The landfill site is open to the public every Wednesday and Saturday from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. However, the other three days there are contractors coming and going, and there must be an employee at the site.
Mr. Burskey is also busy with delivering blue boxes and garbage bags, picking up municipal garbage, such as at parks, beaches and arenas, covering garbage at the landfill, general maintenance, cleaning, etc.
The site is closed every Sunday and Monday.
“No garbage is to enter the site on Mondays or Sundays,” he said. “So far, that seems to be working pretty well.”
While there is garbage pick-up each Monday, Mr. Hodson said the garbage contractor keeps the garbage in the trucks until Tuesday, which is allowed by the MOE.
Another expense is the equipment, which is all paid for. There is a 24 metric tonne excavator, an 18 metric tonne crawler loader and a one-ton flat-bed pick-up truck.
“Landfill equipment is looked at in terms of not just versatility but how heavy it is and how many pounds per square foot of compaction you get on the tracks,” Mr. Hodson said. “You want to pack your landfill as tight as you can because air space is valuable.”
A large waste compactor is the best equipment for a landfill, but there isn’t one at this landfill because there isn’t the volume of garbage.
This landfill needs equipment that is versatile, such as the excavator and crawler loader, he said.
The excavator was purchased in 2006 to not only do garbage but excavate about a 50,000 cubic metre trench at the Ross landfill, site that is now filled, which only took six years.
“The excavator has proven to be quite versatile,” Mr. Hodson said.
The crawler loader is versatile as well, and does things quicker, such as spreading garbage and cover.
“For small landfill sites that can’t afford or can’t justify the cost of a compactor, the crawler loader, in my opinion, is the best machine you can purchase,” he said.
The machines are used every day, he said. Even on delivery or pick-up days, Mr. Hodson said a contractor will come in, so the garbage has to be covered.
The truck is used for garbage collection and deliveries, he said.
As the manager, Mr. Hodson is at the landfill two to three days a week helping with the day-to-day operations.
“The other times I’m managing the paperwork, the approvals, correspondence, the reporting, the reporting, reporting and reporting,” he said.
If there was no landfill in Whitewater Region, Mr. Hodson said there would need to be a transfer station.
The municipality would need a location, or two or three, for the residents, businesses and institutions to take their material, whether it be recyclables or waste.
“If you have no landfill, the material has to go somewhere, so it’s trucked down the highway somewhere,” he said.
And that decision will come sooner rather than later for the council of the Township of Whitewater Region, Mr. Hodson noted.
“When our landfill is coming to capacity, council has to make a decision,” he said. “Where do they want a transfer station.”
He said there’s about 25 years of space in the Ross landfill, but that’s only if the transfer station is going to be located other than at this site.
“We will never open another landfill,” he said. “That’s not going to happen. You’re into multi-millions of dollars of studies, public consultation, engineering and at the end of the day when it hits the general public, it will stop dead in its tracks.”
Mr. Hodson noted council has a responsibility, under legislation from the MOE, to provide an outlet for residents to dispose of their waste.
“The Ministry of Environment use to run the landfill sites,” he said, “And they sort of said, this is your municipality, but you will operate it under our legislation and direction.
“Truly, you work for the Ministry of Environment.”
If the transfer station is to be at the Ross landfill site, which is almost set up for something like that, it will cut into the 25 years of space, because a large area is required for a transfer station.
“We need to come up with the best way for people to get their material a) to its final destination or b) to a transfer station where it can be re-packed and then trucked,” he said.
Mr. Hodson said he will come up with options and a recommendation for council so they can make the right decision.
“That decision may not be my recommendation,” he said.
Another option Mr. Hodson very briefly touched upon was incineration.
There is technology out there to utilize all the items, but in Canada there is lots of land, so landfilling is the cheapest option, he said.
Incineration is an option, which would produce energy and reduce volume, but to make an incinerator economically viable, a lot of tonnage of garbage is required, he said. There wouldn’t even be enough garbage produced in all of Renfrew County to have an incinerator, he added.
“I’m kind of in favour of incineration,” he said. “There’s no perfect solution. Everything we do affects the environment, take your pick.
“But, at least with incineration, you get volume reduction and you have the ability to produce heat and energy.
“Some day we may walk around and look at all these landfills filled with garbage and say, ‘Look at all that wasted BTUs, all that potential energy.’
“Maybe we’ll mine them.”
Mr. Hodson said it would be very difficult to not dispose of garbage. The township is participating in every program the province has regarding reducing garbage.
As for the consumer to cut down on garbage, that would be almost impossible as well, he said.
“It’s tough, because everything you purchase is laden with packaging,” Mr. Hodson said. “Items that we do purchase are destined to fail, nothing lasts. So, anything around you, everything in your home, your couch, coffee-table, coffee maker, it’s all plastic and fake wood and not built to last.
“It’s all throw-away.”
As for being in charge of the water and sewer plants, Mr. Hodson noted the municipality owns it, which means he has to contract manage it, do the reporting, filing, correspondence.
“Most of it is reporting,” he said. “OCWA (Ontario Clean Water Agency) takes care of the day-to-day operations.”
And that’s why Mr. Hodson said the perfect scenario would be to have a part-time person helping the operator at the landfill on the days the site is open to the public.
This would allow Mr. Hodson to do the paper work that is required for all that he is in charge of.
“I have the go-ahead to hire someone, but I haven’t had time to hire someone yet,” he said. “It’s coming.”
While there is a lot of responsibility as a manager, Mr. Hodson said he has been working in waste management for almost 20 years, both as an operator in the field and as manager.
“I like both aspects of it,” he said. “I love getting in the field, I love running the landfill.
“To me, it’s like a construction project that never sees final completion, it just keeps going and going. I enjoy it.”
The expectations from the province on many aspects of what the municipality does, regardless of the department, is completely over-whelming for small municipalities. It’s hard to keep up, he said.
“Just to keep up with the correspondence is just crazy,” Mr. Hodson said. “And, yes, it does get frustrating.
“In the 11 years I’ve been here, I’ve seen a few things happen, and that’s just part of it.”
Over his career, he has seen a lot of ideas, some excellent, and some not so good, he said. However, at the end of the day, no one wants a landfill in their back yard, which is understandable, but it has to go somewhere.
“Someone has to be accountable for it and that’s the municipality. Until we all stop shopping and accumulating and disposing, we’re always going to need a landfill site,” Mr. Hodson said.
“And, unfortunately, ours is filling up rapidly.”
