Havelock incinerator idea blindsides township mayor

The mayor of Havelock-Belmont-Methuen Township says he and his deputy mayor spent last weekend dealing with concerned ratepayers with questions about the location for a proposed incinerator in the township. Problem is, neither of them had any answers.

Township Mayor Jim Martin told county council Wednesday that he only learned of the proposal at the end of last week.

A presentation was on the agenda for Wednesday’s county council meeting, but members were more or less limited to a report prepared by three proponents of the project.

“I’m not against the concept,” Martin told council during Wednesday’s virtual meeting. “I realize we have to think of new ways to get rid of waste ... this is something worth talking about.” But he told council he was against the way this information came out.

“I’m really disappointed that Havelock is a part of it, but we knew nothing about it ... My phone lights up last week and I knew nothing about it.”

Martin said the process should have started with a host site, then the proponents should have found out what the community thinks about it.

The proposal was put forward by Ray March, a professor emeritus in chemistry at Trent University, along with engineer Ed McLellan and retired doctor Gordon Powell.

March, addressing council on Wednesday, said they are proposing a facility similar to the Durham-York incinerator in Courtice, but it would be half the size. It would take in waste from the City of Kawartha Lakes, as well as Peterborough city and county, Northumberland, Hastings and Prince Edward counties, along with Belleville and Quinte West.

The group is suggesting it be located on the Drain Bros. Kawartha Ethanol property, three kilometres east of Havelock — a location March said is central to the five counties. The property owner has shown initial support for the location, March said. The process would still have waste collected, sorted and compacted at transfer stations, but landfill sites would no longer be needed in the five counties. Ideally, it would be in operation by 2030, March said.

He asked county council to consider putting together a five-county feasibility committee and to assist in attaining funds to hire an environmental expert to study the proposal. That would cost $160,000 to $200,000, he said, but down the road the facility would generate income from selling the energy produced in the incinerator process.

Following the presentation, several councillors spoke in favour of exploring new methods of dealing with area waste.

Otonabee-South Monaghan Mayor Joe Taylor said there is a need for alternative methods of dealing with waste. His township hosts the area’s landfill site.

“The current practice we have of burying material we no longer have use for is archaic,” Taylor told council.

But he backed a motion to take the matter to county staff, who would work with the City of Peterborough and the joint waste liaison committee to further investigate the feasibility.

Martin said going forward, the proposal needs to seek out public consultation on location possibilities. “I think the NIMBY (not in my backyard) thing is something you need to keep in mind at the beginning ... or at least educate someone before you put their name in the mix.”