Like other small rural municipalities across Ontario the MacGregor and McTavish disposal sites have been in operation since the early 1970’s and are unfortunately nearing capacity within the next several years. The facilities were established decades ago, operate with small footprints, and now face declining capacity due to population growth, increased service expectations, and evolving waste streams.

Operating and expanding landfill sites is expensive.  Expanding an existing landfill rather than constructing a new facility is typically the most cost-effective, environmentally responsible, and publicly supported approach. To proceed with an expansion, municipalities such as Shuniah must obtain approvals from the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) through Environmental Compliance Approvals (ECAs), Environmental Assessments (EAs), hydrogeological assessments, technical design reports and associated consultation processes.

Administration and the Municipality’s Engineering Consultant have recently completed a revised site operation design and obtained the required supporting groundwater data to support a capacity expansion of 60,000 m3 at the McTavish Waste Disposal Site.  The Ministry of the Environment is fully aware of our capacity needs and has committed to work with our team to prioritize the review of the required environmental permissions.

Based on an average annual waste disposition rate of 6,500 m³ for the entire municipality, the capacity expansion increase of 60,000 m³ would provide approximately 10 years of volume for waste disposal. After which the site would still have a remaining 100,000 m3 of theoretical capacity for future expansion subject to MOECP approval.

The MacGregor Landfill is unfortunately not a candidate for expansion due to geophysical limitations and environmental management challenges. Based on the sites available remaining capacity of just over 19,000 m3, Administration would like to propose prohibiting the deposit of demolition and construction debris once approval for expansion of the McTavish Disposal Site is received. Diversion of the bulky debris to the McTavish Landfill would allow the MacGregor site to remain open for the next decade for resident disposal of domestic bagged garbage, recycling, household hazardous waste and single bulky items (chairs, mattresses etc..).  For convenience of users the bulky items will be permitted to be deposited into roll-off bins and transported to the McTavish facility on an as required basis.

Operating a municipal landfill site is a significant and ongoing financial responsibility. Beyond the visible day-to-day activities of managing waste, there are substantial costs associated with regulatory compliance, environmental monitoring, leachate management, equipment procurement and maintenance, staffing, fuel, insurance, reporting to the Ministry of the Environment, and long-term closure and post-closure care.  While it is appropriate that a portion of these costs be supported through the general tax base there is a strong rationale for aligning a greater share of operating costs with tipping fees. A user-pay approach ensures that those who generate and dispose of more waste contribute proportionately to the cost of managing it, promoting fairness, financial sustainability, and responsible waste reduction practices.