Council moves forward with changes to Otter Lake landfill
Posted Nov 13, 2013 12:04:38 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A move to dismiss proposed changes to the hotly debated Otter Lake Waste Processing and Disposal Facility fizzled out after a close vote in Halifax Regional Council.
The motion needed 12 votes to pass but only ten voted in favor.
A report done earlier this year said the city could save about $100 per tonne of waste by replacing the sorting system used at the landfill with a cheaper option.
The spokesperson for the Otter Lake Community Monitoring Committee Ken Donelly said residents are concerned about these changes because the current system was designed to provide environmental and community protection.
“If you have trucks that dump straight into the hole in the ground at the landfill and the stuff is just buried there you’ll have the hazardous waste going straight in that’s currently being picked out at the front end processing facility and taken to safer disposal,” said Donelly.
Other cost-cutting measures include increasing the landfills height by 15 meters and increase the lifespan of the landfill from 17 years to 23.
Council will have its final say on the matter when it come to another vote on December 10th.
