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London chapter opposes dump near Ingersoll


London chapter

Photo: The Council of Canadians London chapter was at this past Friday’s weekly sign waving to help raise awareness about the landfill battle. It participates in these actions most Fridays. Photo by Mike Farlow.

The Council of Canadians opposes the Walker Environmental Group’s proposed Zorra landfill site near Ingersoll (which is located about 160 kilometres south-west of Toronto).

In April 2014, Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow spoke at a rally in Ingersoll and stated, “There are many reasons to fight Walker Environmental Group’s Southwest Landfill proposal, but none more important than (protecting) water. …It’s a real and present danger to drinking water and groundwater in general.”

The 200-acre landfill would receive garbage from all over Ontario. The proposed site is located in a mined-out portion of a quarry owned by Carmeuse Lime in Zorra Township on the boundary with Ingersoll and near the Thames River. The dump would operate for 20 years, but it could be expanded to continue to take garbage after that time. Every day an estimated 100 trucks would take a total of 3500 tons of garbage to the dump. The company is also reportedly examining if moving the garbage by rail to the site is a viable option. The community has raised concerns about the pollution of local drinking water, the odor from the garbage, toxins and dust in the air, and the number of garbage trucks this would put on the road.

Barlow says, “A mega landfill in the heart of Oxford County would be disastrous. Across Ontario, people are standing up to protect their communities from unwanted industrial megaprojects like the Walker dump. We helped stop Dumpsite 41, we helped stop the Megaquarry and we will help stop this ridiculous proposal to put a dump in a quarry.”

OPAL (Oxford People Against Landfill) is fighting to stop this mega-dump. For more on this, visit their website and Facebook page.

Further reading
Council of Canadians opposes landfill in Oxford County
“A River Runs Through Us” with Maude Barlow in Ingersoll
First Site 41, now the Zorra landfill