The municipal landfill will be the subject of an operational review in the near future, and Mayor Glenn Witherspoon said at Monday night’s council meeting that it’s about time.
“We need to make some changes,” he stressed. “It’s terrible out there.”
Mayor Witherspoon noted his concerns revolve around how many years’ use can the town get out of the dump, as well as details like how often the cells are covered and how the town can prevent fires there.
“I’ve gone to various communities and asked about their landfills and they’re nothing like this one,” he noted. “If we compacted our garbage and covered it, maybe we wouldn’t have fires.”
Operations and Facilities manager Pat Hickerson said by Ministry of Environment regulations, landfill cells have to be covered twice a year, and he believed staff at the dump have been compacting daily.
But Mayor Witherspoon said he talked to a landfill employee who says they’ve never seen the cells covered in years. “There’s dirt there for the land cover that’s got grass growing on it,” he remarked.
“It’s an absolute disgrace out there,” echoed Coun. Dave Bourgeault. “I’ve talked to people who went out there in a truck and got stuck. You never know if you’ll get a flat tire out there.”
“It’s well worth it for the managers to go out there and see what’s going on,” agreed Coun. Roy Avis.
Hickerson assured council an operational review was in the works, which would answer questions such as is the landfill operating efficiently and what are possible alternative sites in the future.
A request for proposal would be out within the month, he added.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
