$3 Million Investment in Waste Management for Eastern Region

Residents in the eastern region of the province will benefit from a new transfer station to be built in the area. The announcement of $3 million in funding for the project was made today at the Clarenville Event Centre by the Honourable Kevin O’Brien, Minister of Municipal Affairs, together with the Honourable Ross Wiseman, Speaker of the House of Assembly and MHA for Trinity North, and Ed Grant, Chair of the Eastern Regional Service Board.

“The transfer station will be the first of its kind in the Eastern Region and will facilitate the closure of the final three landfills in the area located at Clarenville, Harcourt and Lady Cove-Random Island,” said Minister O’Brien. “In the Eastern Region we began our consolidation work with 43 community landfills, including Robin Hood Bay. With this $3 million investment in the region, we are continuing our successful implementation of the Provincial Waste Management Strategy.”
AMEC Environment and Infrastructure has been retained to conduct a site selection study and develop a Request for Proposals for the design and construction of the transfer station.

“This transfer station will allow the province to continue in its efforts to implement the Provincial Waste Management Strategy as we move towards a regional landfill system,” said the Honourable Ross Wiseman. “With the cost of waste management shared across all regional property owners and users, we can now offer regional services at a reasonable cost to our residents and businesses.”

Upon completion, the new transfer station will accept residential and commercial material for transfer to the Regional Integrated Waste Management Facility located at Robin Hood Bay. It will contribute to the overall goals of the Provincial Solid Waste Management Strategy, particularly the goal to reduce the total number of waste disposal sites by 80 per cent.

“With the expansion in services offered by the Eastern Regional Service Board, over 50 per cent of the population now has access to curbside recycling,” said Ed Grant. “Communities in rural areas such as Old Perlican, Trepassey, Branch and Swift Current have access to biweekly curbside recycling. In addition, the board provides bulk waste drop off sites, bulk collection services, Household Hazardous Waste events and other waste diversion initiatives.”

It is anticipated that the transfer station will be operational in late 2014. Further information on the Provincial Waste Management Strategy can be obtained at: www.gov.nl.ca/ma/waste_management/index.html.

- 30 -

Media contacts:

2013 07 16                              3:25 p.m.