Kensington shutting down lawn waste dump

The Town of Kensington has decided to shut down an ad hoc lawn waste dump it was offering residents.

The town had been trying to decide what to do with the dumpsite, but a letter from the province has sealed its fate.

Access to the site has been relatively open, but council decided in January to restrict access to only certain times. However, officials from the provincial Department of Environment expressed concern about the practice after reading coverage of the council deliberations in the Journal Pioneer.

Town chief administrative officer Geoff Baker said the town had previously been in contact with the province and was originally told there was no concern, but officials now say they had misunderstood the scope of the situation.

After further conversations, Baker said the province was not supportive of the practice and would not sanction it into the future.

Given this new information, Baker recommended that the town stop accepting yard waste, and council voted 5-1 in favour to do so.

The site in question is behind the municipal works building on Stewart Street.

For nearly 20 years, residents have been allowed to dump organic yard waste, like leaves and tree branches, behind the building. The town would pay for it to be covered in topsoil and compacted a couple of times a year.

Council started discussing its fate after it became apparent that the site was becoming full.