Municipal Affairs
Environment and Conservation

August 27, 2008

The Town of Winterton has been identified as the interim waste disposal site for communities in the Trinity Bay East area. The Honourable Dave Denine, Minister of Municipal Affairs, today announced $70,000 in funding to prepare the Winterton site to accommodate waste from other area dumps as well as decommission the Winterton incinerator. This will allow for the closure of other area dumpsites, including the site at New Harbour.

"We have been working closely with area municipalities and the committee of local service districts for some time to come up with a solution that supports the Provincial Solid Waste Management Strategy," said Minister Denine. "As soon as the Winterton site is able to handle the additional waste, the process of closing the New Harbour, Heart�s Delight-Islington sites will begin immediately and Winterton will become the interim site for communities from Hant�s Harbour to Markland."

"This interim measure is a step forward in helping us achieve the goals we have outlined in our waste management strategy," said the Honourable Charlene Johnson, Minister of Environment and Conservation and MHA for Trinity-Bay de Verde. "We are working in partnership with communities to consolidate waste management services and facilitate the closure of sites throughout the various regions of the province."

Calvin Peach, MHA for Bellevue, also expressed his pleasure at the progress being made.

"Winterton has been working with AMEC Earth and Environmental and the other communities in the Trinity Bay area to develop a waste management plan for the region that facilitates implementation of the Provincial Waste Management Strategy," said Jim Harnum, Mayor of the Town of Winterton. "Winterton supports the improvement of solid waste management on the Avalon and looks forward to a system that improves our environment while providing the best value to our community."

"Consolidation of dumpsites, and finally getting the New Harbour site closed and cleaned up, brings us one step closer to alleviating the environmental issues that our committee has been working with the Provincial Government to address," said Neil Cooper, President of the Trinity Bay South Waste Management Committee.

The front end engineering work is already complete and it is anticipated that the tender call will be made within the next week or so and the work completed by the end of September. At that time, all users � including present users of the New Harbour dump � will be able to use the Winterton site for their waste disposal.

In May 2007, the Provincial Government announced implementation of the $200 million Provincial Solid Waste Management Strategy, with a goal for full implementation by 2020. The strategy calls for full-service regional waste management facilities on the Avalon, Central and Western areas of the island portion of the province, and programs which will be developed for the zones in Labrador to meet the provincial waste management goals. The Greater Avalon regional site at Robin Hood Bay is expected to be fully operational by 2010 and will incorporate programs of household hazardous waste, waste reduction and diversion, composting and recycling.

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