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Integrated material recovery facility, transfer station and composting comprise York Region diversion strategy
- A new three-stream collection system for York Region will include two transfer stations, one located in East Gwillimbury and another along the Highway 7 corridor.
- Miller Waste Systems will design and construct a material recovery facility (MRF), transfer station, weigh scales, education centre and public drop off at the Bales Drive location in the Town of East Gwillimbury.
- The MRF will be 62,000 square feet in size, have 90,000 tonnes-per-year capacity and be designed to receive commingled blue box material that is collected using bags, carts or blue boxes.
- The system will give the Region the maximum flexibility for handling future changes, and the latest design in processing equipment will be used to sort the material into marketable grades of paper, steel, aluminium, glass and various grades of plastic.
- A 32,000 square foot transfer station will be designed to receive up to 150 tonnes per day of garbage and 100 tonnes per day of source separated organic waste from the northern municipalities in the Region. The design includes compactors to load garbage into highway trailers and also allows for loading of open-top trailers for organics. Odour control systems and proper operational procedures will be designed into the facility to ensure the facility is operated with no off-site adverse impacts.
- Other facilities included will be weigh scales, a 10,000 square foot office and public education centre, public waste drop off area, as well as associated roads, potable water, sanitary and stormwater servicing. Extensive landscaping and architectural design will be used to create an attractive site that will showcase the Region's leadership in waste management.
- It is anticipated the construction of the Bales Drive facilities will begin in late 2002, once all site approvals are received from the Town of East Gwillimbury. It will take approximately 18 months to construct and commission the facility.
- The $38.8 million dollar facility includes $2.7 million in land purchase, $29.3 million in construction and site development costs, $1.5 million for municipal water service, $300,000 for contract administration, inspection and commissioning fees, and a $5 million, or 15 per cent, contingency fund.
- It is expected the transfer station could open in mid 2003 and the MRF will be operational early in 2004.
- The facility will create more than 100 full time employment opportunities.
- The Southern transfer station will receive and transfer household organic waste as well as garbage destined for final disposal from the southern area municipalities in the Region.
- Household organic waste processing will be conducted at Canada Composting Inc. in the Town of Newmarket, subject to a written report from the Ministry of the Environment confirming that all odour emissions from the Canada Composting facility meet Ministry requirements by April 30, 2002. The Region also maintains the option to cancel the contract with Canada Composting if odour problems arise at any time during the contract.
The Regional Municipality of York is committed to providing cost-effective, quality services that respond to the needs of our rapidly growing communities. York Region is comprised of the following nine area municipalities: Aurora, East Gwillimbury, Georgina, King, Markham, Newmarket, Richmond Hill, Vaughan and Whitchurch-Stouffville. For more information, visit our Web site at: www.region.york.on.ca Contact: Patrick Casey, Senior Media Relations Specialist, York Region
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