This week, the Coalition launched its campaign “Don’t Let Ottawa go to Waste” to target candidates during the Ontario election. Why the provincial election? The Carp Landfill is where Waste Management wants to put Ontario’s Industrial, Commercial and Institutional (ICI) Garbage – not just Ottawa garbage but garbage from across all of Ontario. ICI garbage is entirely a provincial responsibility. Ontario governments have repeatedly dropped the ball on dealing effectively with the province’s waste. Ottawa doesn’t want another mountain of garbage compliments of Waste Management and Ottawa doesn’t want to become the dumping site for Ontario ICI waste.
Here’s what should be done:
1. Strict recycling rules need to be established and enforced. About 70 percent of all garbage produced in Ontario is ICI garbage but only about 12 percent is diverted/recycled. That is compared to 42 percent of household waste that is diverted/recycled. There’s a lot of waste heading to landfill that could readily be diverted and recycled.
2. We need to severely limit where the garbage can go. The evidence is clear – when landfill capacity is restricted diversion and recycling rates go way up!
3. Ontario needs to put more pressure on producers to produce less waste in the first plact.
4. Ontario needs to support alternative, more advanced and cleaner solutions to deal with residual waste. Landfills pollute the water and pollute the air – they are no longer a viable solution for waste disposal.
SUNDAY, September 25th – PUBLIC INFORMATION SESSION ON GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION
On Sunday, September 25th, the campaign will host a public information night on the Carp Rd. landfill and related groundwater contamination at the Goulbourn Recreation Centre in Stittsville starting at 7 p.m. The session will include a technical presentation by an independent hydrogeologist, Chris Rancourt, of XCG Consultants Ltd. No registration is required and bring your friends and neighbours.