Cumberland to Repeal Waste Management Rule

Cumberland Council proposed a bylaw change at a special meeting today that will clear a hurdle on the sale of the county’s waste management operation to GFL Environmental Inc.

There were three minor clauses in the current waste management bylaw that council agreed to remove in keeping with the sale agreement.

The key clause says, “No person shall export or remove solid waste material generated within Municipality outside the boundaries of Cumberland County and all such solid waste shall be disposed of within the boundaries of Cumberland County and in accordance with this By‐law, unless permission is granted by a Resolution of Council.”

While exporting garbage seems strange, it is that very freedom that makes the waste disposal business attractive to private companies.

Efficiency in waste management is best achieved with large volume, the very fact that led Cumberland to want out of the business, as the county’s volume is not sufficient. Latitude to combine waste with other communities, possibly outside Nova Scotia, is key to the sale agreement with GFL and key to the future of waste management.

Council passed first reading to repeal three clauses in the current bylaw that will allow GFL to export or import solid waste for combined disposal.

Second reading on the bylaw is scheduled for August 19th. 

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