County may have to look at policing recycling; changes coming to Port Hope 401 interchange

By Cecilia Nasmith

To help Northumberland County reach its goal of diverting 75% of household waste from its last remaining active landfill site in Brighton, some sort of policing may be necessary.

At county council's Public Works Committee meeting for June, Director of Operations Adam McCue said that isn't a step likely to be taken in the near future, given the staffing requirements. And in the interim, other measures can be taken that will have positive results.

The introduction of green bins for compostable waste in 2019 had a tremendous effect in taking away from those garbage bags people set out at curbside. Basically, McCue said, 3,000 tons of food that would have been in those bags isn't there. 

The grey bins for paper had a great start though, since the county lost its weekly newspaper last year, collections have been down considerably.

Even so, there's a simple measure of success over the past 10 years. In 2014, the average household was generating 770 kg. of waste per year, with 42% of it diverted from the landfill. Presently, the average household generates 750 kg. of waste, with 52% of it diverted.

McCue expects that number to climb to 55%, once the county launches its mattress and box-spring diversion program. But to get to 75%, he would like to see a diversion program for construction materials and waste wood, along with what he termed “mandatory use of diversion programs and enforcement.” 

Along with requiring clear bags for curbside garbage, this measure would require some staffing element to assess what is in those bags and whether it could have been recycled and diverted. For example, he estimates that – at present – 20% of the waste set out in garbage bags could have gone into the green bin.

Looking ahead, his recommendation is for an environmental assessment to determine the best way to manage that fraction of our waste that cannot currently be diverted.

And with only about 10 years left in the lifespan of the Brighton landfill, and possibly eight years required to implement a solution to this problem, he would like to see the county get to work on options – expanding the existing site, developing a new one, or making arrangements to export waste to another landfill or alternative disposal facility.

Port Hope 401 interchange is in for big change

Though the work may not begin for more than a dozen years into the future, Port Hope's Highway 401 interchange with County Road 28 is in for some major changes.

At county council's Public Works Committee meeting for June, Egis Vice-President for Transportation Structures Laura Donaldson reviewed work to date, work to come and a look at the preferred option of making sure that the 401 exit onto County Road 28 actually does come out onto County Road 28 – instead of having the eastbound exit and entrance land a vehicle on Rose Glen Road, as is currently the case.

This project will include the reconstruction of two overpass bridges, Donaldson added – the one on County Road 28 and the one on Hamilton Road.

As for the revised 401 interchange configuration, she said, a partial cloverleaf design will require left-hand turns to access the 401 from 28 but, in both eastbound and westbound cases, put the exiting driver on Highway 28. 

Associated with the realignment will be putting a cul-de-sac on the west end of Phillips Street.

Donaldson said the changes should have minimal property impacts and no impact on emergency-response times.

Rebuilding overpasses will require detours off Highway 401 at certain points in the construction process (such as demolition), at one point with traffic on Ontario Street reduced to a single lane. The detour route will be to the north, she said, along Dale Road.

As for the Hamilton Road rebuild, the bridge will be completely closed for about a week at some point.

Part of the advantage of these new overpasses, in addition to replacing aging infrastructure, is that the Highway 28 one will be wider to accommodate future Highway 401 needs, while the one on Hamilton Road will be regraded to offer a higher clearance on the 401 than is now possible.