Money talks, and the County of Simcoe has determined there is lots of taxpayer dollars to be saved by pulling the plug on a proposed organics and recycling facility in Springwater Township.
On Tuesday, County councillors voted unanimously not to pursue an Environmental Resource Recovery Centre (ERRC).
If councillors ratify the plan at their next meeting in March, council will direct staff to enter into both short-term and long-term contracts for external vendors from outside the region to receive and process the county's organic waste.
A key factor behind the decision was the estimated cost savings of more than $200 million over the next 23 years.
“The ERRC project made financial and operational sense in 2016-17, and we would be in a strong position had it been built on our original schedule,” said Warden Basil Clarke. “However, so much has changed within the waste management sector during the appeal process. Organics processing costs have been driven down due to increase supply and processing capacity in Ontario, through new legislation the private sector will soon be managing recycling collection removing the need for us to have a large transfer facility, and inflation has significantly driven up the costs of construction and necessary technologies.”
The ERRC project was first pursused in 2010 and was to be located on what is currently County of Simcoe forest at 2976 Horseshoe Valley Road West.
"With council's new direction on this project, future use and zoning of the property will be brought to council at a later date. In the interim, the property will remain part of the county's public forestry program," the county stated in a news release on Tuesday.
