Second waste management consultation

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Deborah Powell

L’ISLE-AUX-ALLUMETTES – More than 20 people attended the second public consultation for the MRC Pontiac Residual Waste Management Plan (RWMP), held at Harrington Hall March 22. A summary of the plan was presented, as had been done in Campbell’s Bay the previous week.

Deborah Powell

L’ISLE-AUX-ALLUMETTES – More than 20 people attended the second public consultation for the MRC Pontiac Residual Waste Management Plan (RWMP), held at Harrington Hall March 22. A summary of the plan was presented, as had been done in Campbell’s Bay the previous week.
Régent Dugas, MRC Territory Director, commented that one of the plan’s goals, recycling farm plastics, is already in effect in partnership with the Ministry of
Agriculture (MAPAQ). He again emphasized that the main focus is diverting compostable material from landfills, which has the potential of reducing transported waste by 30-40%. Focus is also on proper management of septic waste and septic
system conformity, particularly where raw waste is seeping into watercourses.
Todd Hoffman of Campbell’s Bay Cement asked what “delegate sludge
management to the private sector” meant.
A commissioner replied that private companies would continue to do the
pumping, but the municipalities would put a system in place to ensure regulations were respected in terms of frequency.
Everyone agreed that more encouragement through education and communication is required to increase composting rates. It was suggested to open a composting facility in the Pontiac so local farmers and gardeners could have access to local
organic materials.
One participant commented that there should be increased penalties for illegal dumping of construction waste. It was pointed out that there is a need for an
ecocentre (accepting construction waste) in the western portion of the Pontiac since, at present, the only two are located in Litchfield and Clarendon
All comments and questions, plus the memoir received from the Outaouais Regional Council for the Environment and Sustainable Development (CREDDO) are contained in the draft report of the consultations. The commission responsible for the public consultations will analyse the feedback and, if necessary, make
recommendations to the Mayors’ Council for changes to the RWMP. The plan and consultation report will then be sent to the Ministry of Environment (MDDELCC) where it will be checked for conformity with provincial regulations and policies.
A bilingual summary of the plan is available on the MRC Pontiac’s website.