Old dumps are timebombs

THE OTTAWA CITIZEN MAY 1, 2010

Re: This year's low water levels reveal 'tonnes' of trash at Petrie Island, April 26

In the past few years, local newspapers have reported on several other examples of environmental concerns being raised at old dumps in the city. A 2004 City of Ottawa study identified 123 old dumps within the city limits of Ottawa.
These dumps have been abandoned for many years; some since the early 1900s. The operators are long gone.
Thus when one of these timebombs are discovered, like the Petrie Island site, it is left to the citizens of Ottawa to pay for length environmental studies and costly cleanup programs. Most of these old dumps are relatively small but estimated cleanup cost are often in the millions of dollars and may restrict public access to important community facilities.
The environmental impacts at the Petrie Island dump have surfaced nearly 40 years after the dump
closed. This is the type of legacy we all inherit from abandoned dumps so we must do everything
possible to stop new mega-landfills and find alternative ways to handle our garbage.

H.D. Moore,
Ottawa
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen 1May 2010