By your own Ministry…

By your own Ministry standards this proposed landfill is too close to a town and where people live.

Please read the following highlights from an attached article/study;

Why are landfill sites so harmful to the environment?
Burying waste in the ground has an impact on our environment, even when done in a controlled manner. The main problems that municipal landfill sites generate for the environment are detailed below.

1. Landfill are one of the causes of climate change
Landfill sites are partially responsible for global warming as they generate and release biogas into the atmosphere. Biogas is a mixture formed primarily of methane gas (CH₄) and carbon dioxide (CO₂), two of the gases that cause climate change and an increase in the planet's temperature. According to the ISWA report, if the current situation continues and we do not take action, landfill sites will account for 10% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2025.

Some of these landfills have degassing methods, which is an improvement over conventional landfills, but still has its drawbacks: degassing is usually performed after the landfill cell has been closed, so methane from the more readily biodegradable components will have already been released into the atmosphere before degassing occurs. Horizontal degassing projects that aim to capture methane while the landfill cell is still in operation achieve better results, but they can only capture a portion of the methane generated.

2. They can cause fires or explosions
Sometimes methane produced by waste from landfill sites can cause explosions and fires. This downside is more common than meets the eye, because the fires that occur are not regular fires with flames, but fires that occur inside the landfill. Dioxin emissions from these spontaneous uncontrolled fires are also very harmful to the environment, not to mention the damaging effects they have on aquifers, whose waterproofing membranes are affected by the fire.

(This particular landfill site is being proposed to be built on a site that was a former landfill and methane gas has already been detected. In fact, neighbouring wells that have never had methane before currently have methane after test drilling on York 1's site. If a fire were to occur, and due to the close proximity to the town and rural homes, and explosion could result in devasting effects for homeowners and possibly loss of life!)

3. They can contaminate soil and water
Landfill sites are often responsible for the contamination of soil and groundwater, as the contaminating materials (such as heavy materials like lead and mercury) that the stored waste may contain can spread to the soil and water near the plant.

Moreover, although it is not very common for waterproofing membranes to rupture, it has a devastating effect on the environment when they do.

(York 1 already has asked to dump toxic wastewater into Molly's Creek that drains directly into the Sydenham River. Furthermore, Molly's Creek floods often and this would result in leachate ponds flowing directly into nearby wells and the Sydenham.)

4. Landfills alter the fauna
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Landfill sites have particularly negative effects on bird migration. Some birds feed from landfill sites , inevitably ingesting plastic, aluminium, gypsum and other materials that are common among waste, which can even prove fatal.

In addition, another of the dangers posed to birds by landfill sites is that they are altering their migratory activity. In recent years, there has been an increasing number of cases of species that have stopped migrating to the south and are instead choosing to nest in areas near landfill sites thanks to the endless food supply they provide. This is not only detrimental because, as we have seen, this can be a deadly diet for them, but also because their young already tend to ignore traditional migratory behaviour, so the problem is exacerbated with each generation.

5. Landfills reduce the value of the surrounding areas
The bad smells that emanate from landfill sites cannot be effectively controlled and, almost inevitably, reach nearby populations. Property prices are reduced in areas located near to these waste stores, which further perpetuates the devaluation of disadvantaged areas.

(The people of Dresden did not sign up for this, nor do we want it in our neighborhood! This site is 700 metres from my home!) Who would ever buy my house with a landfill in the backyard!)

6. Accidents sometimes occur in landfill sites
In March 2017, the Addis Ababa landfill site in Ethiopia collapsed, causing an estimated 113 deaths. Only a month later, the Meethotamulla landfill site in Sri Lanka suffered a landslide, leaving more than 30 people dead, dozens of people missing, and more than 140 houses destroyed. In February 2020, two workers were killed when the Zaldívar landfill site in Spain collapsed. Rain, spontaneous combustion or excessive accumulation sometimes turn landfill sites into unstable terrain where landslides or collapses are very dangerous for plant workers and for nearby areas.

This landfill cannot happen nor should the recycling facility! The results for the town of Dresden have the potential to be devastating! Not only could our whole town blow up, but our watershed, Creek, wells and River could be poisoned resulting in illness or death to endangered species and the people of this community.

The truck traffic shipping these toxic materials will drive right through multiple towns, and by schools not only hurting the infrastructure of the roads and bridges but putting our farmers in tractors, our kids on school busses, the people walking in these towns and travelling these roads at risk.

No landfill or dump, no matter how many environmental assessments are done should ever be this close to a thriving community.