One of Dryden, Ontario's Landfill's. This one ...
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I thought that with all this talk of the garbage strike in Toronto, I could write about the Green Lane landfill which is owned by the city of Toronto.

The Green Lane is a near London, Ontario in Canada. It is, as I just mentioned, owned by the City of Toronto.

It operates a leachate collection system and an on-site leachate treatment plant. Green Lane also has an extensive gas collection system. This gas is roughly 50 per cent methane and 50 per cent carbon dioxide, along with traces of other gases. Currently the gas is collected and directed to the flaring system that allows for release into the air.

History and politics

As the city’s last remaining site, Keele Valley, neared capacity during the 1990s, it was found that no other municipality in Southern Ontario was willing to accept the , but there was also no political support for a change to incineration. A deal was eventually made to ship Toronto’s to the Adams Mine, an abandoned open pit mine in Northern , once the Keele Valley site closed. But objections grew into vociferous controversy as the time neared, and eventually the agreement was canceled.

By the time the Keele Valley site closed at the end of 2002, the city had made a new deal: its is now shipped by truck to a site in Michigan.

In September 2006, Toronto City Council agreed to purchase the privately owned Green Lane site near London, . The contract to ship household to Michigan is due to end in 2010 when the Green Lane will be used. Jane Pitfield who ran (and lost) against Mayor Miller in the November 2006 election has advocated incineration as an alternative method of disposing of . This is opposed by many Toronto environmental groups but supported by others who point out that the technology has improved and incineration is now less polluting.

Concerns with the border, and opposition from residents in Michigan prompted the need to look for alternate sites or expand the city’s recycling programs. Toronto’s contract with Michigan lasts until 2008, and includes an option to expand to 2010, but the city is actively seeking options to close the contract sooner. Even the current contract could be in jeopardy following a vote in February 2006 by the Michigan House of Representatives to ban out-of-state from being shipped to the state from and other U.S. states, but this requires approval by the US federal government before it can be enforced by Michigan. In May 2006, Carelton Farms, the dump in Michigan that is under contract with the city of Toronto announced it would not be accepting sludge as of August 1, 2006, but would continue to receive household .

Even with 60% diversion through the green bin and recycling programs, residual from the Greater Toronto Area would amass 2,200 tonnes (2,425 tons) a day or 800,000 tonnes (882,000 tons) a year.

In September 2006, city council approved an agreement to ship Toronto to the Green Lane Facility near St. Thomas, . Councillors opposed to the agreement have accused Mayor Miller of pushing through a secretive deal and there has also been strong reaction from residents and MPs from the London-St. Thomas area.

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