Mayor Wants Local Authority Over Dumps

Sarnia's mayor wants the Ontario government to give municipalities the power to reject landfill developments in their communities. Mike Bradley is asking Lambton County Council to endorse the recommendation when it meets next month. Bradley says other communities are on board with the call, citing an ongoing battle in the Ingersoll area. "In Lambton County, this has been a long-held issue going back to the 1990's when there were efforts to put mega-dumps into this particular community of Sarnia-Lambton," says Bradley. I think municipalities that went through this torturous process where our communities were not allowed to deny wind turbines should, if the province respects us, do something to give us the power to reject landfills if we don't want them in our community." Bradley says the Watford-area dump would not be impacted by the request. He says the soil here is very desirable for dumps but that shouldn't give the province the power to locate them here. Bradley notes that trash diversion rates are as low as 15% in Toronto and that results in their garbage being taken elsewhere. County Council meets on April 4.