BOWMANVILLE -- The Greater Vancouver Area finds itself in a similar situation to Durham Region in terms of finding ways to deal with its waste, say Clarington councillors who recently returned from a trip to Burnaby's incinerator.
Four Clarington councillors, including the three Regional representatives -- Charlie Trim, Mary Novak and Mayor Jim Abernethy -- and local councillor Adrian Foster were among a Durham delegation to see the incinerator there earlier this month.
The Burnaby incinerator helps deal with garbage produced in Metro Vancouver. There, the region is looking at building three to six incinerators to deal with residual waste as landfill capacity dwindles.
Emissions from the existing Burnaby plant "are continuously monitored and are under provincial regulations," Coun. Novak said. "No measurable impact has ever been found from this facility."
The Burnaby incinerator is found in an industrial area. The facility itself appeared clean, Coun. Trim said.
"The outside yard was clean, no foul smells, no seagulls," he said. "Certainly, the housekeeping was very, very good."
But, Coun. Foster said it didn't change his opinion of incineration despite what he saw.
"I didn't see anything I didn't expect to see," he said. "It was well run, run by people . . . who thought they were doing the right thing."
Still, "after kicking the tires . . . my concerns (about incineration) remain the same," said Coun. Foster.
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