Kensington considering future of yard waste drop-off site

There are questions being raised about the future of an unofficial yard waste dump the Town of Kensington has been offering residents.

For nearly 20 years the town has allowed the disposal of yard waste, mostly tree branches, leaves and other organic material, at its public works property on Stewart Street. The question was raised during a recent committee of council meeting as to whether the community should continue to allow the practice.

The site is unlocked daily, and many residents use the area to dump their yard waste rather than wait for street-side pickup by Island Waste Management Corporation.

Several times a year the town pays for a private contractor to compact the material and cover it with shale and topsoil.

However, town management is to growing concerned about the practice.

“The site was never designed for this, and at some point we are going to run out of capacity,” said Geoff Baker, Kensington’s chief administrative officer.

Baker added that there are also occasional problems in terms of household trash and appliances being dumped at the site. Businesses from outside the community have also dumped landscaping and tree removal byproducts there.

Some councillors said they appreciated having the option of the drop-off site, especially after bad storms necessitated yard cleanups.

“I think it’s a great service we provided to our residents all these years,” said Coun. Jeff Spencer.

The option of closing the dump, but opening it under special circumstances like storms, was also brought up.

Council opted not to make a decision one way or another Monday night and will instead revisit the issue again during December’s committee meeting.