TABLE OF CONTENTS
REPORTS OF THE STANDING COMMITTEES
AND OTHER COMMITTEES
As Considered by
The Council of the City of Toronto
on April 13, 14 and 15, 1999
WORKS AND UTILITIES COMMITTEE
REPORT No. 3
1 Proposed Amendment to Provisional Certificate of Approval for
Commissioners Street Transfer Station
City of Toronto
REPORT No. 3
OF THE WORKS AND UTILITIES COMMITTEE
(from its meeting on February 10, 1999,
submitted by Councillor Betty Disero, Chair)
As Considered by
The Council of the City of Toronto
on April 13, 14 and 15, 1999
1
Proposed Amendment to Provisional
Certificate of Approval for
Commissioners Street Transfer Station
(City Council on April 13, 14 and 15, 1999, adopted this Clause, without amendment.)
(City Council on March 2, 3 and 4, 1999, deferred consideration of this Clause to the next regular meeting of City Council
to be held on April 13, 1999.)
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(Clause No. 2 of Report No. 2 of The Works and Utilities Committee)
The Works and Utilities Committee recommends that the City not apply for the amendment to the Provisional
Certificate of Approval for the Commissioners Street Transfer Station to allow for 24-hour-a-day container loading
operations.
The Works and Utilities Committee reports, for the information of Council, having requested the Commissioner of Works
and Emergency Services to:
(1) submit a report to the Committee on:
(i) the issues raised in the communication dated February 5, 1999, from Mr. Peter Smith, Co-Chair, Public Liaison
Committee - 400 Commissioners Street, and Co-Chair, Portlands Citizen Action Committee, and in particular on:
- the hopper management approach;
- the door closure strategy;
- the issue of overloaded trucks;
- outdoor storage of recyclables on site;
- tracking of garbage down ramps and into the street; and
- diversion strategies that would divert waste from the Commissioners Street Transfer Station to other under utilized
transfer stations; and
(ii) transfer station utilization rates;
(2) consult with the Medical Officer of Health with respect to a study of air quality standards being conducted in the area to
determine if the Terms of Reference can be amended to also examine the air quality related to the transfer station; and
(3) forward his previous report respecting the waste haulage contract to interested parties.
The Works and Utilities Committee submits the following report (January 26, 1999) from the Commissioner of
Works and Emergency Services:
Purpose:
The purpose of this report is to provide the rationale behind a proposal to amend the Provisional Certificate of Approval for
the Commissioners Street Transfer Station to allow for 24 hour-a-day container loading operations.
Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:
None.
Recommendation:
It is recommended that this report be received for information.
Council Reference/Background/History:
At its meeting held on June 15 and 16, 1992, City Council adopted Clause No. 58 of Report No. 10 of the City Services
Committee entitled "Proposed Solid Waste Transfer Station at 400 Commissioners Street (Ward 8)". The report
recommended "that the Ontario Ministry of the Environment's Acting Director for Central Region be advised that the City
of Toronto has no objections to the draft Amendment to the Provisional Certificate of Approval to Metropolitan Toronto to
operate a Solid, Non-hazardous Waste Transfer Facility at 400 Commissioners Street". Provisional Certificate of Approval
No. A210615 for a Waste Disposal Site (Transfer) at 400 Commissioners Street was subsequently issued on September 28,
1992.
Discussion and Justification:
Condition No. 3 of Provisional Certificate of Approval (C of A) No. A210615, which permits the transfer of up to 200,000
tonnes of nonhazardous solid waste per year at 400 Commissioners Street in Toronto, states that "Metro (the City) shall
conduct transfer container loading operations at the site between 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., daily excluding Sundays." In
response to concerns raised by the public at the Commissioners Street Transfer Station Public Liaison Committee, and
pursuant to our objective of improving operating efficiencies, the staff propose to request an amendment to Provisional
Certificate of Approval No. A210615 to allow for transfer container loading operations 24 hours a day, seven days a week
in keeping with Condition No. 2 which already permits tipping operations at the site 24 hours a day and seven days a week.
In the near future, the City of Toronto will be required to secure short-term and/or long-term disposal capacity other than the
Keele Valley Landfill Site. This disposal capacity may result in longer haulage distances from the City's seven active
transfer stations. The current C of A for the Commissioners Street Transfer Station, with its container loading restriction,
eliminates any opportunities the City may have to transfer waste through the night during off-peak traffic hours.
Allowing for 24 hour-a-day, seven day-a-week container loading operations concurrent with hours of operation for tipping
presents the following opportunities:
(a) Putrescible restaurant and market waste received at the site, from night-time collections, would be loaded into transfer
vehicles and sent for disposal quicker, thereby reducing the potential for odours.
(b) Less storage of restaurant and market waste on the tipping floor would result in less tracking of material down the ramp
by collection vehicles exiting the transfer station.
(c) Some transfer vehicles could exit the site earlier each day thereby reducing traffic congestion at 6:00 a.m. at the site as
well as on the neighbouring roadways and highways during busy rush-hour traffic. Twenty-four hour-a-day container
loading operations will be especially useful during the dismantling of the Gardiner Expressway when temporary lane
closures and rerouting along Lakeshore Boulevard will result in a reduction in (commuter) vehicle access and egress in the
Port of Toronto area.
(d) Fewer transfer vehicles stopping and starting in heavy rush-hour traffic would result in less CO and CO2 emissions, and
conserve fuel.
The proposal to amend the Provisional Certificate of Approval for the Commissioners Street Transfer Station was
discussed, at length, at a recent Public Liaison Committee meeting. Representatives from the public did not cite any specific
objections to the proposal; however, they did ask that it be tabled at a Works and Utilities Committee meeting.
Conclusions:
We do not anticipate that the proposed amendment will result in any increase in waste arriving at the Commissioners Street
Transfer Station above the allowable limit of 200,000 tonnes per year, as stated in the current C of A. We believe that the
removal of Condition No. 3, which currently restricts our container loading and waste transfer operations, will ultimately
provide us with improved flexibility to receive and transfer material, as required, to meet both short-term and long-term
disposal objectives, at the lowest costs and with reduced environmental impact on the surrounding community.
Contact Names:
Richard Butts, Director - Transfer, Processing and Disposal Operations
Solid Waste Management Services, Works and Emergency Services
Phone: 392-8286; Fax: 392-4754
E-mail: richard_butts@metrodesk.metrotor.on.ca.
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The Works and Utilities Committee further reports having also had before it during consideration of the foregoing matter a
communication (February 5, 1999) from Mr. Peter Smith, Co-Chair, Public Liaison Committee - 400 Commissioners Street,
and Co-Chair, Portlands Citizen Action Committee, stating that the community does not want 24-hour transfer operations at
this site; and outlining concerns with respect to the operation of the Commissioners Street Transfer Station.
The following persons appeared before the Works and Utilities Committee in connection with the foregoing matter:
- Ms. Elizabeth Borek, Lakeside Area Neighbourhoods Association, and submitted a communication with respect thereto;
- Mr. Peter Lukas, President, Showline Ltd.; and
- Ms. Linda Lynch, representing Harkow Recycling.
Respectfully submitted,
BETTY DISERO
Chair
Toronto, February 10, 1999
(Report No. 3 of The Works and Utilities Committee was adopted, without amendment, by City Council on April 13, 14 and
15, 1999.)
