KAGAWONG—Instead of banning tires at its landfill, Billings council has deferred a motion to look at other alternatives for tire storage in the township.
At a council meeting on September 17, Councillor Vince Grogan brought forward a draft motion of that would have seen tires not allowed to in the landfill site.
“When I was first elected to council, we had a delegation from a company that was going to look at getting an extension to our landfill and they are still continuing this work,” said Councillor Grogan. “It took a lot of work and time to get all the tires out of our landfill. From an environmental point of view it is dangerous to have tires at our landfill if a fire took place.”
“I agree with you 100 percent,” said Mayor Bryan Barker. “But what will happen if tires are banned from our landfill site? They will end up in the bush and ditches.” He proposed contacting Green for Life (GFL) which transfers waste from the site off-Island.
JK Automotive has a business in the township and has a tire box at its location that people can take their old tires to, said Councillor Grogan. “If we want to extend the life of our landfill, one of the ways to do this is to keep tires out of our landfill.”
“Can we not get a dumpster in place and get someone to pick up all the tires on a regular basis?” asked Mayor Barker.
However, “the problem with that is the landfill is not open all the time,” said Councillor Grogan. “I don’t want the tires strewn across the roadside.”
“Where would people take their used tires?” asked Councillor Dave Hillyard.
“There is a local business that would take them,” said Councillor Grogan.
Mayor Barker asked Councillor Grogan if he would be in favour of deferring the motion for more research.
“I would have no problem with this at all,” stated Councillor Grogan, pointing out his discussions with township Clerk Veronique Dion and landfill attendant Dennis Beckon.
Council agreed to defer the proposed motion for staff to look at other alternatives for keeping tires out of the landfill.
