Council willing to explore compost site alternatives

MORRISBURG – Lately members of council are hearing much displeasure concerning the closure of the two free compost sites in Morrisburg and Iroquois which have been operated illegally for years.

Now that it has come time to formalize compost operations, council had been favouring the lowest cost option which is to allow residents to dispose of leaf and yard waste at the Matilda landfill free of charge.

However, since having that initial discussion, the significant public outcry from this service loss has compelled them to look at doing more.

A report from Danielle Watson, director of environmental services for South Dundas showed that 17 weeks of curbside pickup of leaf and yard waste across all of South Dundas would cost $255,000.

That cost was much too high for council to consider.

“Seventeen weeks is inflated. I think we can do better,” said South Dundas deputy mayor Kirsten Gardner.

She suggested looking at pricing limiting curbside pickup to South Dundas’ more populated areas and to fewer days.

The option of offering seasonal drop off depots of leaf and yard waste in both Iroquois and Morrisburg seasonally is an option that council asked Watson to pursue.

These depots, will require transfer station permits, which have a price tag attached.

Watson suggested only having one transfer station located in Iroquois as a cost savings measure but the mayor asked her to get pricing to have one in each of Morrisburg and Iroquois.

“That’s what people are going to want,” said mayor Steven Byvelds.

Watson said she is still waiting on a call back from the Ministry to determine what the cost of this option will be.

South Dundas already has the equipment to transfer the bins to the Matilda landfill, so the cost of the transfer permit will be the most important factor in determining if this is a feasible option.

At this point the majority of council agree that whatever the compost solution is, it should be free of charge for those willing to take their leaf and yard waste directly to the Matilda landfill site, but they want any transfer station or curbside collection option to be user-pay. Watson will bring a new report to a future meeting for a council decision.