Proposed Amendment to Provisional
Certificate of Approval for
Commissioners Street Transfer Station
The Works and Utilities Committee recommends that the City not apply for the
amendment to the Provisional Certificate of Approval for the Commissioners Street
Transfer Station to allow for 24-hour-a-day container loading operations..
The Works and Utilities Committee reports, for the information of Council, having requested
the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services to:
(1)submit a report to the Committee on:
(i)the issues raised in the communication dated February 5, 1999, from Mr. Peter Smith,
Co-Chair, Public Liaison Committee - 400 Commissioners Street, and Co-Chair, Portlands
Citizen Action Committee, and in particular on:
-the hopper management approach;
-the door closure strategy;
-the issue of overloaded trucks;
-outdoor storage of recyclables on site;
-tracking of garbage down ramps and into the street; and
-diversion strategies that would divert waste from the Commissioners Street Transfer
Station to other under utilized transfer stations; and
(ii)transfer station utilization rates;
(2)consult with the Medical Officer of Health with respect to a study of air quality standards
being conducted in the area to determine if the Terms of Reference can be amended to also
examine the air quality related to the transfer station; and
(3)forward his previous report respecting the waste haulage contract to interested parties.
The Works and Utilities Committee submits the following report (January 26, 1999)
from the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services:
Purpose:
The purpose of this report is to provide the rationale behind a proposal to amend the
Provisional Certificate of Approval for the Commissioners Street Transfer Station to allow for
24 hour-a-day container loading operations.
Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:
None.
Recommendation:
It is recommended that this report be received for information.
Council Reference/Background/History:
At its meeting held on June 15 and 16, 1992, City Council adopted Clause No. 58 of Report
No. 10 of the City Services Committee entitled "Proposed Solid Waste Transfer Station at
400Commissioners Street (Ward 8)". The report recommended "that the Ontario Ministry of
the Environment's Acting Director for Central Region be advised that the City of Toronto has
no objections to the draft Amendment to the Provisional Certificate of Approval to
Metropolitan Toronto to operate a Solid, Non-hazardous Waste Transfer Facility at 400
Commissioners Street". Provisional Certificate of Approval No. A210615 for a Waste
Disposal Site (Transfer) at 400Commissioners Street was subsequently issued on September
28, 1992.
Discussion and Justification:
Condition No. 3 of Provisional Certificate of Approval (C of A) No. A210615, which permits
the transfer of up to 200,000 tonnes of nonhazardous solid waste per year at 400
Commissioners Street in Toronto, states that "Metro (the City) shall conduct transfer container
loading operations at the site between 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., daily excluding Sundays." In
response to concerns raised by the public at the Commissioners Street Transfer Station Public
Liaison Committee, and pursuant to our objective of improving operating efficiencies, the
staff propose to request an amendment to Provisional Certificate of Approval No. A210615 to
allow for transfer container loading operations 24 hours a day, seven days a week in keeping
with Condition No. 2 which already permits tipping operations at the site 24 hours a day and
seven days a week.
In the near future, the City of Toronto will be required to secure short-term and/or long-term
disposal capacity other than the Keele Valley Landfill Site. This disposal capacity may result
in longer haulage distances from the City's seven active transfer stations. The current C of A
for the Commissioners Street Transfer Station, with its container loading restriction,
eliminates any opportunities the City may have to transfer waste through the night during
off-peak traffic hours.
Allowing for 24 hour-a-day, seven day-a-week container loading operations concurrent with
hours of operation for tipping presents the following opportunities:
(a)Putrescible restaurant and market waste received at the site, from night-time collections,
would be loaded into transfer vehicles and sent for disposal quicker, thereby reducing the
potential for odours.
(b)Less storage of restaurant and market waste on the tipping floor would result in less
tracking of material down the ramp by collection vehicles exiting the transfer station.
(c)Some transfer vehicles could exit the site earlier each day thereby reducing traffic
congestion at 6:00 a.m. at the site as well as on the neighbouring roadways and highways
during busy rush-hour traffic. Twenty-four hour-a-day container loading operations will be
especially useful during the dismantling of the Gardiner Expressway when temporary lane
closures and rerouting along Lakeshore Boulevard will result in a reduction in (commuter)
vehicle access and egress in the Port of Toronto area.
(d)Fewer transfer vehicles stopping and starting in heavy rush-hour traffic would result in
less CO and CO2 emissions, and conserve fuel.
The proposal to amend the Provisional Certificate of Approval for the Commissioners Street
Transfer Station was discussed, at length, at a recent Public Liaison Committee meeting.
Representatives from the public did not cite any specific objections to the proposal; however,
they did ask that it be tabled at a Works and Utilities Committee meeting.
Conclusions:
We do not anticipate that the proposed amendment will result in any increase in waste arriving
at the Commissioners Street Transfer Station above the allowable limit of 200,000 tonnes per
year, as stated in the current C of A. We believe that the removal of Condition No. 3, which
currently restricts our container loading and waste transfer operations, will ultimately provide
us with improved flexibility to receive and transfer material, as required, to meet both
short-term and long-term disposal objectives, at the lowest costs and with reduced
environmental impact on the surrounding community.
Contact Names:
Richard Butts, Director - Transfer, Processing and Disposal Operations
Solid Waste Management Services, Works and Emergency Services
Phone: 392-8286; Fax: 392-4754
E-mail: richard_butts@metrodesk.metrotor.on.ca.
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The Works and Utilities Committee further reports having also had before it during
consideration of the foregoing matter a communication (February 5, 1999) from Mr. Peter
Smith, Co-Chair, Public Liaison Committee - 400 Commissioners Street, and Co-Chair,
Portlands Citizen Action Committee, stating that the community does not want 24-hour
transfer operations at this site; and outlining concerns with respect to the operation of the
Commissioners Street Transfer Station.
The following persons appeared before the Works and Utilities Committee in connection with
the foregoing matter:
-Ms. Elizabeth Borek, Lakeside Area Neighbourhoods Association, and submitted a
communication with respect thereto;
-Mr. Peter Lukas, President, Showline Ltd.; and
-Ms. Linda Lynch, representing Harkow Recycling.
