Elora waste transfer station up and running after $4M upgrade, easing pressure on county landfill
Waste diversion strategies at transfer station expected to add four years to Riverstown landfill lifespan
ELORA – At its busiest, the Elora waste transfer station handles 1,300 drop-offs in a day.
During a ceremonial reopening of the Elora station on May 21, vehicles pulled up to drop-off bins behind speakers remarking on the renovation of Wellington County’s busiest transfer station.
The facility reopened earlier this year following design alteration and construction hiccups the county said led to a closure that lasted close to a year.
There’s now an expanded drop-off area, a new scale house with dual scales and a new household hazardous waste building.
The $4-million project is covered by a county reserve fund, development charges and growth-supported debt to the tune of $1.6 million (expected development charge income).
Spending on the project to date is just over $3.5 million, according to the county, which anticipates finalized costs falling within budget.
Solid waste services director Das Soligo told a small gathering of county politicians and staff on Thursday the site makes it convenient for residents to divert trash from the county’s sole landfill.
The station accepts mattresses, shingles, drywall, yard waste, scrap metal, electronics and tires, among other items.
“Preserving landfill capacity, finding a home for materials that would normally go to the garbage is vital this day and age,” Soligo said.
Electronics waste is processed by Mississauga-based EPRA, while Guelph-based Ben Met Steel and Metal handles scrap metal; London-based Try Recycling takes shingles, drywall, and mattresses; recyclable materials are handled by Waste Management; and textiles are collected by the Canadian Diabetes Association.
The county is seeking a new solution for recycling tires, according to Soligo.
He told the Advertiser the upgraded facility is expected to add around four years of additional capacity to the county’s Riverstown landfill.
“We now foresee that we have over 25 years of landfill capacity,” Soligo said, lauding waste diversion strategies, including a green bin program.
The Riverstown landfill, in Wellington North, opened in 1971. A 2022 expansion brought its lifetime capacity to 1.62 million cubic metres, similar to spreading garbage across the Scotiabank Arena, piled 340 storeys high, or more than twice the height of the CN tower.
With ongoing waste diversion strategies, the county now expects the landfill to fill up in 2051, later than the 2047 forecast provided during the 2022 expansion.
During the Elora renovations, the Belwood and Rothsay sites shouldered most of the overflow.
Soligo said the Rothsay location, the smallest of the county’s five stand-alone transfer stations, is next in line for upgrades.
