Elora Waste Facility reopens March 3

ELORA – After two major delays, the county's busiest waste facility is set to finally reopen on March 3.

The Elora Waste Facility closed last April for site improvements, including:

• an expanded drop-off area;
• scale house construction with installation of dual scales;
• replacement of the retaining wall and household hazardous waste building; and
• paving and concrete work.

The original reopening date was Dec. 1 but that was delayed to mid-January due to project design alterations.

"Much of the delays were caused by the county asking for adjustments to be made from the original design," county manager of solid waste services (SWS) Das Soligo told the Advertiser.

Delays also occurred due to required materials arriving late to the site.

During the 11-month closure of the Elora site, county residents were redirected to alternate sites such as the Belwood waste facility (primary destination) and the Rothsay site.

To accommodate increased visits, the Belwood location has been operating at full-time hours, but it will revert to regular hours on March 3 (Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 8am to 4pm).

"[Elora is] our busiest site when operating so it will be nice to distribute the patron visits between the Elora and Belwood sites," Soligo said. "We're very excited about it."

Soligo said he is "very pleased" with improvements at the Elora facility, noting, "It's going to meet our needs for now and for the foreseeable future."

He added the site will function "a little" differently now that it has two weigh scales.

"Patrons will be asked to weigh in as they do at our other sites, but they'll also be asked to weigh out," Soligo said.

Having the two scales will result in a smooth user experience and in reduced vehicle lineups, he added.

Hours of operation for county residents include Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 8am to 4pm.

According to county treasurer Ken DeHart, the $3.97-million project was funded with:

• SWS reserves of $1.78 million;
• development charge supported debt of $1.63 million; and
• development charges of $550,000.

"We are currently looking like we'll be below budget when the site is complete," Soligo said.

All leftover funds will return to the SWS reserve.