Majority of Ontarians oppose current legislation for siting future garbage dumps, poll finds
77 percent feel municipalities should have the right to approve/reject new landfill/waste facilities
TORONTO, Feb. 26, 2018 /CNW/ - Nearly 8 out of 10 Ontarians feel municipalities should have a say in whether they host landfills, contrary to current legislation, according to a new poll by Public Square Research. As the law stands today, private contractors can propose, develop, and operate new landfill sites in the province without the approval of impacted towns and cities. As well, according to a 2017 report from the province's Environmental Commissioner, Ontario has a serious garbage problem:
- Ontario produces nearly one tonne of waste per person, with three-quarters of it being dumped in landfills (annually);
- Downtown office buildings, industrial complexes, and commercial buildings (collectively the ICI sector), produce 6.7 million tonnes of garbage per year ? of which only 15% is recycled or reused; and,
- From the ICI sector alone, this volume of waste requires over a quarter million truck loads a year and would fill Toronto's Rogers Centre to the roof, seventy-four times over.
As Ontario landfills are filling up quickly, several new mega dumps will be needed to take this unwanted garbage ? and soon.
"Right now, Highway 401 is the Greater Toronto Area's garbage chute," said Ted Comiskey, Chair of the Demand the Right coalition of municipalities and the Mayor of Ingersoll. "Any community outside the 905 to the provincial border is a potential site for future mega dumps and under current legislation, there's nothing we can do about it. We want to change that."
The poll also found that only 23% of Ontarians would accept waste from other towns or cities. It was commissioned by a coalition of Ontario municipalities concerned about the potential for their communities to become unwilling hosts to new landfill sites. The poll of 800 people across Ontario was conducted by Public Square Research on February 21st and 22nd, 2018.
"While we recognize the need for future landfill developments, this has to be matched with a community's right to say yes or no to these projects," said Ernie Hardeman, MPP for Oxford and PC Critic for Municipal Affairs. "It makes no sense that municipalities have the right to approve where the Tim Horton's is located and yet be denied that same right when it comes to landfills."
Since the recent launch of the Demand the Right campaign, over 20 municipalities have passed resolutions calling on the Government of Ontario to change its environmental assessment process to add municipal approval. For further information, please visit www.demandtheright.ca.
SOURCE demandtheright.ca
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