Historic flooding has produced historic levels of garbage in New Brunswick, where landfills are seeing a wave of trash.
On some days, triple the normal amount of garbage is arriving at the gate, and much more is expected over the coming weeks as home and cottage owners continue to clean up and make repairs.
Saint John resident Lloyd Paul had no choice but to toss out thousands of dollars’ worth of flooring, but he was happy he could drop off the flood-damaged materials at the local landfill, free of charge.
“This is great because I would have to pay $30 or $40 for this, at least, for the weight, because this is heavy stuff,” says Paul.
So far, more than 1,300 tonnes of flood-related garbage has arrived at the Crane Mountain Landfill.
“We had three times the number of vehicles in here just on Friday alone,” says Brenda MacCallum of the Fundy Solid Waste Commission.
She says any flood-damaged materials are contaminated and have to go to the landfill, including thousands of sandbags that still circle properties all over Saint John.
“We’re setting them aside in the landfill. They do have to go to the landfill, but we’re setting them aside, and we’ll use it as cover in the landfill, instead of having to purchase other cover,” says MacCallum.
Buildings are being gutted of contents right down to the wiring in hundreds of locations around the province, and electrician Roger Herrington says electricians are fully booked as they repair flood-damaged buildings.
“All the cottages and houses, the hydro will not turn them back on until electrical contractors are out looking at them, making sure all the water damage has been disconnected,” says Herrington.
Meanwhile, large amounts of garbage are accumulating along New Brunswick roadways, waiting to be picked up.
At this point, there are no plans to open another cell in the landfill to bury the flood waste, but that option has been discussed in case it becomes necessary.
The cost of picking up all the trash and hauling it to a landfill is just one of the costs expected to be covered by the government’s disaster assistance fund.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Mike Cameron
