The Environmental Review Tribunal whose last public meeting was in Deseronto on Friday April 12 seems to have been the reason for the flight of fancy expressed in WM’s ad. Despite WM’s attempted spin, observers at the ERT meeting learned that WM had in effect “put their hands up” and agreed to many of the demands of the local concerned citizens group who had brought Waste Management before the Environmental Review Tribunal. Waste Management admitted that their landfill is leaking off-site and that their leachate monitoring is inadequate and that they have no suitable plan to contain the leaking leachate.

So now, it appears, Waste Management’s PR department is working overtime in trying to turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse by insinuating in their ad that they are good corporate citizens who led an effort to reach an agreement for better monitoring of their leaking landfill. This would be like the leaders of WW 2 Japan claiming to have been virtuous and peace-loving because they signed the documents of surrender at the end of the Second World War.

Meanwhile, back in Waste Management’s parallel universe, they are claiming that “there is no risk to public health or the environment” from the leachate migrating from their landfill. And, most astounding of all, they are continuing to push for a permit for a massive new landfill at the same site!

Stay tuned as Waste Management is sure to bring us more episodes from their Parallel Universe.

Sincerely,

Brian Hughes
Napanee, Ontario