Although he does sit on three committees in his town, the Steady Brook resident was the only unelected person to attend Tuesday night’s public update hosted by Western Regional Waste Management.
The waste management authority has been visiting its seven sub-regions throughout western Newfoundland to provide the latest information on its solid waste diversion strategy. Tuesday’s meeting was for towns in the Humber Valley and the north and south shores of the Bay of Islands.
“It’s an interesting topic and I like to keep informed,” Dwyer said as to why he took the time to attend.
“It’s something that is going to affect everybody.”
He was surprised there were not more people out, given the subject has been a relatively hot topic on council agendas for years now.
“I think there should be more participation, especially from younger people,” said Dwyer, who has been retired for 10 years.
Dwyer said there wasn’t a whole lot he had not already heard.
The meeting was attended by just eight people, plus three Western Regional Waste Management staff members and two of its board members.
Don Downer, Western Regional Waste Management’s chairperson, told those in attendance about plans to have construction started on four transfer stations in the region this year, including Wild Cove, Port aux Basques, St. George’s and Hampden.
Work on two more transfer stations, namely in Rocky Harbour and Burgeo, will commence in 2017.
The six stations will eventually serve as way stations for waste being sent to the Norris Arm Regional Waste Management Facility, one of two engineered waste management sites on the island with the other being Robin Hood Bay in St. John’s.
Downer explained taking the regional approach, including not building a main site in western Newfoundland, is a cost-saving venture. In addition to saving the nearly $100 million it would cost to build a lined site like those in Norris Arm and St. John’s, he said the estimated annual cost of $2 million to transport waste to Norris Arm would roughly be the same as the annual operational cost of operating an engineered landfill.
The goal, said Downer, is to have every household in the western region pay the exact same fee for waste disposal. That cost is currently expected to be in the vicinity of $200 annually, which is about the same as what households in central and eastern Newfoundland are paying now.
“It’s frustrating at times in that we’d like to make greater progress, but it does take time to properly plan it,” said Downer.
Western Regional Waste Management was worried it might lose some of its funding when the provincial budget came down last week, but it has been spared the axe so far. As Downer noted, most of the funding for waste management actually comes from the federal gas tax and not a lot of it comes from the provincial coffers.
The authority’s vision, said Downer, is to create a plan that is both environmentally sound and economically viable.
Most debate at municipal council tables has revolved around the cost for residents when all is said and done.
Coun. Claude Wilton of Steady Brook asked how Western Regional Waste Management plans to deal with cottage owners and folks who live full-time outside the boundaries of cities, towns and locals service districts.
“A lot of these people come into our towns and leave their garbage in our dumpsters and it’s not fair to us,” said Wilton.
Downer said no firm decisions have been made about that just yet, but said the waste management authority is aware this will be an issue. He is inclined to think a plan will be made to identify all property owners, including those who live in cottage areas, and enforce the same fees on them.
He acknowledged efforts being made to enforce waste collection fees for cottage owners in eastern Newfoundland and in the Port aux Basques area have been met with discontent and it won’t be easy.
“If you have a waste truck that goes by your cabin, just as it goes by your house in a town or city, then you get charged,” said Downer. “That’s the principle we’re working towards.”