To the Environmental Review…

To the Environmental Review Office,

I am writing as a concerned resident of Dresden to express my strong and heartfelt opposition to the proposed landfill, recycling, and waste facility at 29831 Irish School Road. This proposal is deeply alarming and would have devastating impacts on our health, environment, and way of life.

Dresden is my home. It is where many of us have chosen to raise our children, grow our families, and live in peace. Now, that peace is being threatened. The idea of 700 trucks per day rumbling through our small town is horrifying. Our roads, schools, and residential areas were never designed to handle that level of industrial traffic. It’s not just inconvenient — it’s dangerous. It puts children walking to school at risk, increases noise and air pollution, and threatens the safety of every person in our community.

Even more concerning is the health risk posed by this operation. The potential for asbestos and silica dust exposure cannot be ignored. These are serious, life-threatening substances. We worry not just for ourselves, but for our children and future generations. No one should be forced to live with this kind of fear in their own community.

Let me be clear: the entire town of Dresden is united in opposition to this facility. Not just many — every single person we know is against this. We are also fully supported by Chatham-Kent Municipal Council, who voted unanimously to oppose this proposal. We are not alone in our concern, and our voices must be heard.

Furthermore, Chatham-Kent already hosts a major landfill — the Ridge Landfill. We have done our part. We have supported provincial priorities, including housing targets and infrastructure projects. We have stepped up — but this, now, is too much. It is unfair and unjust to ask our community to bear this additional burden.

We beg you to maintain the requirement for a full Environmental Assessment. The current effort to repeal Ontario Regulation 284/24 is deeply troubling. We understand why the company wants it removed — because they know this project could not survive the scrutiny. But that is exactly why it must remain. A full Environmental Assessment is the only way to understand the true impact of this project, and we are confident that if it is done fairly and transparently, it will prove what we already know — this facility has no place in Dresden.

We are pleading with you: protect our health, our environment, and our community. Don’t let a flawed proposal endanger everything we’ve built. Protect Ontario by protecting Dresden. Thank you!