Community group pushes back against Ottawa’s bid to buy east-end landfill

A community association says the dump would have a negative impact on the residents and businesses in the area. CTV’s Natalie van Rooy reports.

There is pushback in from the Carlsbad Springs Community Association against the City of Ottawa’s plan to purchase a private landfill in the east end.

Earlier this week, council voted in favour of acquiring the landfill located at Boundary Road between Devine Road and Highway 417.

Adrian Becea, president of the Carlsbad Springs Community Association, says purchasing the dump would have a negative impact for rural residents in the area and would impact local businesses, school commutes, and activities.

“There’s a lot of stress in the community and I think it just increased the stress,” said Becea. “It’s stressful seeing this go forward without knowing how much it will cost the city or if there’s any risk mitigation options that are put in place on the sale, like when you buy a house, there’s an inspection.”

The property is a possible solution for Ottawa’s disposal needs as the city’s current dump is running out of space.

“This site is going to be a landfill,” said Mark Sutcliffe, Ottawa’s mayor who spoke about the property on Jan. 14. “The question before us was simply whether it would be owned by the people of Ottawa and where the City of Ottawa would be able to take input from the community.”

Becea says the association plans to submit a complaint to the ethics commissioner about a lack of transparency, and they also want an updated environmental assessment done.

“The use of this site was not part of the master plan for waste management,” he said.

Ottawa city council voted 20 to 5 on Wednesday to proceed with the purchase of the property, which is called the Capital Region Resource Recovery Centre.

The property is 475 acres in size, is owned by Taggart Miller Environmental Services, has approval to accept 450,000 tonnes of waste a year and has a lifespan of approximately 30 years.

There are still few details about the city’s bid to purchase the property. Staff previously told CTV News that a report on the bid, including the price tag for the landfill, will be released once the purchase is complete and the non-disclosure agreement is lifted.

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