Odour-free facility 'not a pipe dream'
Peel Curing Facility at Chinguacousy Landfill site
By Anneleen Naudts

Councillors Richard Paterak and Allan Thompson vowed to take turns sleeping in a motor home at the Peel Curing Facility so they could experience first-hand that no odours would be emitted should the site reopen.

The resumption of operations at the facility is pending approval from Peel Region, but the Region's Waste Management Subcommittee last week unanimously voted in favour of its reopening, as well as the $10 million proposal for improvements to the site.

Operations at the facility, located at the former Chinguacousy Landfill site on King Street near Dixie Road, were suspended in July 2007, following complaints by the site's neighbours of excessive offsite odours.

Staff at Peel Waste Management investigated solutions to the problem, and concluded a Gore Cover System was the world's most proven answer.

The Gore system includes Gore-Tex fabric (known for being breathable and waterproof) to cover windrows containrealty ing organic material. The system also includes a mobile cover winder to apply and remove covers, in-ground aeration channels to supply adequate oxygen to the compost, and a computer monitoring system to ensure optimal process control, stated the staff report that went to committee last week.

At the primary composting system (composting consists of two components), more leaf and yard waste will be mixed with the kitchen waste.

Another improvement will be to separate excess liquid from the organic waste collected in green collection bins, in an effort to reduce the odours carried in moisture.

These improvements are expected to eliminate 95 per cent of offsite odours.

Care will be taken not to introduce any odorous material to the curing facility, explained Andy Pollock, director of Peel Waste Management.

Pollock said any material transported from the primary system to the curing facility would be diligently inspected. "If it is not meeting quality expectations, it doesn't get put on the site," he said.

The protocol to be followed has been stepped up, continued Pollock. Measures for immediate responses are in place, and in the unlikely case there is an issue with the facility, the Ministry of the Environment will be brought in immediately, and the facility will be shut down if needed, he added.

Mayor Marolyn Morrison said she knows this has been very difficult for people. "We all felt badly at Regional council," she said. "We really don't want to impact residents. We are trying right now to make sure this doesn't happen again."

"How often do we expect offsite odours will be able to be detected?" Morrison asked. Pollock advised that in the worst-case scenario, one to 1.5 odour units might be detected 0.5 per cent of the time.

The intensity and type of offsite odours would not be similar to last spring, staff and councillors agreed. Last year, the stench was 40 to 50 times higher than the odours that may be emitted from the renovated facility, said Pollock.

The odour would vaguely smell earthy, and Paterak commented "in very rare instances (people) will be able to smell something, but won't even know what it is."

Not everyone was in favour of the proposed improvements and the reopening of the facility.

Giovanni Merenda, owner of approximately 95 southwest of the facility, vehemently opposed the reopening.

"I call it a garbage dump," he remarked, adding the area will become another Jane and Finch, which will drive people away and devaluate properties.

"The proposal is outdated," he said. "Blankets covering garbage is disgusting. I'm not an expert on garbage, but this is outdated. You don't go and cover garbage."

"I'm not going to allow you to devaluate my property - if it means taking the Region to court, then that's what it takes," Merenda declared. He suggested the Region buy his property if it wants to reopen the facility.

The region also received a petition from the Victimsof landfill-site citizens' group. Approximately 130 people, who supported closing down the site, signed it.

Celia and Cliff Chapman, whose property is near the facility, also attended the meeting. The couple said the odours emitted from the site have "greatly impacted our lives."

"We hope you as a group will do the right thing," said Mrs. Chapman.

She said she does not think the Region has enough property to house the facility, and added it should not be located on a hill.

"We are not against (the facility), it is important," said Mrs. Chapman. "We're scared. Are we going to be guinea pigs again?"

Thompson expressed his confidence in the system. "I really think we've got it under control," he said.

Thompson, along with staff, visited a Gore Cover System installation in Washington, and reported being impressed with its performance. "I wanted to see for myself the system works," he added.

Paterak guaranteed the odour problem would not reoccur. "That's an ironclad promise," he said.

Councillor Pat Saito of Mississauga too was convinced the improvements would be successful. Having a facility without odour emissions will now be possible, said Saito. "It's not a pipe dream."