Simcoe County council has decided on the location for the new Organics Processing Facility and Materials Management Facility.
Councillors approved the site at 2976 Horseshoe Valley Road West in Springwater which is part of the Simcoe County forest. The site was the preferred location for the facility.
“Approving the best location was an important milestone in this process as we look to manage and control our waste in a more responsible way,” said Warden Marshall. “Our staff will now focus their efforts on determining site-specific requirements, work to identify technology and continue to engage our neighbours and stakeholders in an open and transparent manner.”
However, people who live in the area have expressed concerns about the truck traffic that will be coming to and from the facility.
“We are not against the technology, but we are firmly against putting it in a forest in a neighbourhood,” said resident John Spencer.
The county said the facility will be built on 11 acres on the 207 acre site and that the large property will help create buffer zone.
“No neighbours are sleeping within 500 meters of where we are anticipating locating the facility,” said Rob McCullough, director of solid waste management.
The decision on the site was not unanimous. Springwater Township need to rezone the land before it can happen. The township doesn`t like the idea of putting an industrial facility in an agricultural area and wants to see a business plan before the land is rezoned.
“We are going to go through the same tests if somebody was making an official plan amendment and rezoning, but at the end of the day it`s going to be councils will that prevails,” said Springwater Mayor Bill French.
The county currently diverts almost 60 per cent of its waste away from the landfill through blue box and green bin programs. The materials gathered curbside is transported to a central location in Barrie, before being shipped out of the region.
Right now all of the diverted materials are handled by a private contractor, but Rob McCullough, the director of solid waste management for the county, says developing two centralized processing facilities one for organics and the other for recyclable materials could save taxpayers millions over the long term.
If the county and township can`t come to an agreement the matter could end up at the Ontario Municipal Board.
In the meantime, the county is moving forward with its environmental and engineering studies.
The County will host two public information sessions on April 19, 2016 at the Simcoe County Museum at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.
-With a report from CTV Barrie`s Roger Klein
