Dysart et al’s environment manager, Ashley Dembinski, confirmed at a recent meeting that the township has no intention of stopping accepting construction and demolition (C&D) waste at the Harcourt landfill.
In May, Dembinski told council that JP2G, the consultant that oversees waste disposal site activities in the township, is recommending Dysart stop accepting C&D materials at Harcourt. The consultants felt there is limited space and lack of infrastructure to properly support the collection and disposal of loose C&D materials, Dembinski added.
The Highlander reported in its June 4 edition that Dembinski and council were on board with that move, which the environmental manager said sparked a petition in the Harcourt community.
“I want to clarify that we are continuing to accept C&D materials and we have not considered terminating acceptance,” Dembinski said at a June 23 meeting.
She noted the petition, which was signed by 51 people, carried a clear message.
“The petition itself states it ‘opposes any proposal that would require residents to transport C&D waste exclusively to the Haliburton landfill site and request that council maintain or develop a local and reasonably accessible disposal option,” Dembinski said in her report.
At last month’s meeting, Dembinski also confirmed the township would retain bins for textile waste at the Haliburton and West Guilford landfills, with Diabetes Canada to take over collecting materials.
Under the previous agreement with Cornerstone to Recovery, signed in 2022, the township had bins at all five landfill sites. Dembinski said Cornerstone “abruptly terminated” its agreement with Dysart earlier this year.
In 2025, the township collected almost 40,000 pounds of textile materials at its locations.
