IEfforts to extend the operation of the Waste Connections of Canada waste recy-cling and disposal facility amount to little more than extending the current status quo for another 10 to 15 years, says a spokesman for the company.

“Operations would simply continue as they are today, providing essential waste diversion and disposal services that local residents and businesses, including the City of Ottawa, depend on,” explains Chris Visser, regional director of technical services for Waste Connections of Canada.

“The site has been operating for decades and will continue to be managed with a focus on safety, environmental protection, and community well-being.”

Addressing a full house of mostly con-cerned local residents at a recent open house, Visser outlined that very little would change from the site’s current operation.

It would continue to act as a waste collection and recycling site for household items from the surrounding area as well as industrial, commercial and institutional waste from companies and businesses operating in Ottawa. It would continue to reject organic waste in any form. And it would continue to contribute hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Friends of the Mer Bleue Community Fund, which supports dozens of local community initiatives and organizations.

The facility also actively promotes diversion, and in 2024 approximately 32% of the waste tonnage received was diverted through “last chance harvest” activities.

And perhaps most importantly of all, extending the operation of the facility does not mean the footprint of the site is being expanded. It will be just be made higher. When the facility is eventually mothballed, all that will remain is a grass-and tree-covered hill.

The biggest argument for extending the facility’s operations is the lack of other options. It is the only facility in Ottawa that currently accepts industrial, commercial and institutional (ICI) waste.

The municipal waste reduction and collection facility on Trail Road banned ICI waste several years ago in an effort to extend it’s life expectancy. It did so knowing that the Navan Road site would be able to accept the city’s ICI waste.

If the Navan Road facility isn’t able to extend it’s operation past 2027, the city’s ICI waste would have to be trucked outside of the city at a significant extra cost.

The City recently bough a landfill site on Boundary Road near Carlsbad Springs, but it will be at least two to three years before it’s operational.

Despite assurances from Waste Con-nections Canada (WCC) that extending the operation of the facility would amount to little more than extending the current status quo, area residents are still upset that WCC is going against the agreement the company made the last time it applied for an extension in 2008.

“Residents who bought homes in the area after the agreement was signed in 2008 acquired them thinking the landfill would soon reach the end of it’s lifespan,” says Heather Buchanan who is a member of the nearby Bradley Estates Community Association. “They are now facing another 12 to 15 years of operation. They feel betrayed by the breach of an agreement made in good faith.