Aylmer waste collection center moving forward on Vanier Rd across from quarry

Sophie Demers

 

Gatineau approved the city budget January 31, including the approximate $7.5 million amount needed for the proposed Residual Waste Management center in Aylmer. On January 25, Gatineau presented it’s 2023-2029 Residual Waste Management Plan (Projet du Plan de Gestion des Matières Résiduelles) (PGMR). In the PGMR, it is confirmed that the City plans to build an ecocentre in the west of Gatineau.
The PGMR 2023-2029 states that the majority of Aylmer residents are situated more than 15 kilometers from an ecocenter making many less inclined to use the services.
When introducing the 2022 City budget, City of Gatineau Mayor France Bélisle said that the city will be seeking funding in 2023 for the construction of an ecocentre in Aylmer. An ecocentre is a service offered by a municipality that allows residents to dispose of various items such as tires, electronics, recyclables, styrofoam, metals, construction waste and textile amount other types of waste.
“Aylmer residents have waited a long time for a local residual waste centre,” Lucerne Councillor and member of the executive Gilles Chagnon told the Bulletin. “There is an incredible amount of work behind this announcement. The new project funding model for the city is exciting, we are able to get more done now, when projects are ready to go.”
The city has placed a “public purpose reserve” on Cadastre du Quebec’s Lot 3 835 037 which is located on Vanier past the Pink Road intersection. The lot has an area of 216 518.4 m2 and is being considered as an ideal location due to the scarcity of land of that size in the sector. It is currently owned by an Ontario corporation and valued at over $1 million
The reserve stops all work from happening on the plot of land and allows the city to conduct the analyses necessary to proceed with the plans for the ecocenter. “Municipal projects require time-consuming analyses. When a potential site is contemplated, the law allows the City to impose a public purpose reserve on the immovable property that prohibits all work that may result in capital gain from the time of the imposition of the reserve and its eventual acquisition once analyses are completed,” says a Gatineau spokesperson.
Mobile ecocentres will continue throughout 2022 and given their popularity the city will add an extra day for the Aylmer sector, bringing the number to three. Mobile ecocentres offer Gatineau residents to dispose of hazardous household waste, electronics, tires, styrofoam, and textiles.
The 2022 budget allocated $1.1 million for residual material management to improve services specifical bulky waste management, on-demand collection and, the ecocentres.