REFRIGERATOR BURIAL GROUND
More than 9,000 smelly refrigerators have been exiled to the regional landfill after Fort McMurray evacuees returning home were greeted with the odour of rotten food..
FORT MCMURRAY Thousands of refrigerators that were just too smelly for Fort McMurray residents to open upon returning to their homes over the past two weeks have made their way to an icebox graveyard.
As of Friday morning, 9,038 refrigerators had been dropped off at the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo’s regional landfill for processing. Tracey Boutilie, supervisor of waste processing, said she believes a similar number has been accepted at Sunset Salvage, a private waste management facility.
Boutilie said the landfill can handle the increased amount of waste, though the expected volume is staggering. “We can expect anywhere between three to five years of waste in six months,” Boutilie said. In 2015, Boutilie said, about 260,000 tonnes of waste crossed the scales at the landfill’s entrance.
Much of that is stinky refrigerators. Workers at the landfill have been using machinery to rip the doors off and shake out rotten contents.
Once emptied, the units are “degassed” — a process that removes freon — then recycled and crushed.
Smoke-damaged carpets, drapes, mattresses and blinds are also popular drop-offs at the landfill, as are items covered in tackifier.
Boutile said the fire retardant is organic and OK for the landfill.
She also said that burned structures and ash are being accepted, on a case-by-case basis and only after testing to determine that no unapproved contaminants make their way into the landfill. For example, Boutile said, the ashes of a hotel would likely contain different contaminants than the ashes of a garage.
Included among the substances to be processed at other facilities are asbestos, radioactive materials, hazardous waste, explosives and combustibles.