Among the most far-sighted questions in the last round of hospital land feedback was one from Shayne Reitsma: How does this population increase impact our recycling agreements? How quickly do we approach capacity?
That question of waste capacity has been on my mind, too – both recycling and landfill capacity. It was on my mind last month when I addressed council about my motion to explore new avenues for composting. I acknowledged that new services come at a cost, but I pointed out that those costs can be partially mitigated by the future savings in the form of reduced landfill costs and longer landfill lifetimes, staving off the costly and time-consuming process of hunting for a new landfill location.
I’m guessing that Shayne was no more surprised than I about this new regulatory proposal from the province: a plan to reduce barriers to landfill use.
Under the “Streamlining requirements for waste disposal site service area and fill rate changes” proposal, landfills will be able to make changes to who is contributing waste and how quickly that waste builds up, with fewer environmental review requirements and less public oversight. In particular, they won’t have to go through an Environmental Screening Process, and there will be no third-party appeal rights for these types of changes. That means impacted neighbours won’t have a mechanism to challenge those decisions.
I’ve already heard from many neighbours blindsided by the province’s intention to demolish the hospital buildings, especially because many of these objecting voices feel that they’ve been very vocal about their hopes for preservation. There is a real sense right now of people being trivialized and ignored. That plans are being made in spite of feedback, rather than with it. I don’t want to see the power of public comment diminished in landfill use, either.
When we see the province using language about “removing red tape,” that often involves peeling away layers of public oversight. But government is meant to build the best possible world for people, not the other way around. Our statements about the way changes impact our communities are vital information that should be factored into decisions.
The Environmental Assessment Modernization Branch is taking feedback on this proposal until June 8th. I encourage anyone to share their opinions on this proposal with the Ministry and with our MPP Rob Flack.
While the opportunity exists.