As the Ministry of…

As the Ministry of Environment we count on you to protect the people of Ontario as well as protect our environment. You are the elected officials we trust to do this important task. This proposal cannot be about big business that backs campaigns or where to bury Toronto's trash, it has to be about the people of Ontario, and that is all people of Ontario, and protecting our environment! This proposed landfill of 1.6 million cubic metres is too close to a community and a sensitive environmental area.

According to your own website;

5.4 Land use beyond 500 metres of a fill area
Where significant impacts are encountered at or beyond 500 metres, the study area within which an assessment for any change in land use is recommended, shall be extended beyond the 500 metre area set out in Section 5.3. Historical evidence in Ontario has shown that the maximum distance within which adverse effects could be experienced while a landfill is operating is up to 3 kilometres.

This proposed landfill is literally less than 1 km away from residential areas and a town. Your own studies have come to the conclusion that adverse effects are experienced when landfills operate less than 3 km from where people live. I cannot believe that in 2024 and with all we know about hazardous waste and landfills that this proposal is even up for discussion. Please don't insult our intelligence by saying how unique this location is because it was once zoned a landfill. There is a reason it has been dormant for 40 years and was only allowed to hold ash. This plan that York 1 has can only effect Dresden in a negative way. There is nothing positive about this proposal except for the fact Toronto gets to ship their hazardous waste far from where they live and breathe.

Landfill operation is usually associated with contamination of surface and groundwater by leachate from the landfill, pungent odour, loud disturbing noise from landfill bulldozers, bioaerosol emissions; volatile organic compounds. The storage of leachate in open lagoons can influence the levels of odours experienced in a landfill site. Residents living close to landfill sites have shown concern due to several hazardous pollutants emanating from landfill operations. Some other pollutants associated with deposition of waste on landfills include litter, dust, excess rodents, unexpected landfill fires, etc. According to research published today in the International Journal of Epidemiology, health is at risk for those who live within five kilometres of a landfill site. You must also understand that these leachate ponds will be located in a flood zone. If flooding occurs as it often does, the toxic waste in the ponds will flow into Molly's Creek, then to the Sydenham and eventually end up in the world's largest fresh water supply, the Great Lakes! Our treatment plants are not equipped to deal with these leachate ponds as they are already handling the leachate ponds from Ridge Fill. How many landfills does south of Toronto need to have?

York 1 says they will ship their waste for a landfill to Michigan. Michigan is putting a stop to receiving out of country waste. If they have a landfill on site, why ship it to Michigan? Why do they need a landfill at all if they aren't using it? The construction materials that they plan to recycle and many by-products that will end up in the landfill pose a huge risk to the surrounding community and environment. These products are full of toxic materials that release toxic gases and particulate. How exactly are they going to stop the toxic soil they are recycling and landfilling from blowing all over and ending up in fields that grow our food, our yards and the air we breathe because it is so close to where we live and farm?

This landfill cannot happen. It will put people, our water, and many endangered species at risk.