Site Improvements
As part of our comprehensive Environmental Management Program that implements preferred management practices and ensures a practice of continuous improvement and pollution prevention, we routinely review all of our operations at the Waste Management West Carleton facility. We also maintain a training program to ensure each Waste Management employee has the skills and knowledge to ensure that safety and environmental protection standards are observed and enforced at all times.
Recent improvements to the site include netting, bird and dust control.
Netting
Our netting systems are specifically designed to keep waste and debris within the designated area. Waste Management uses vertical and horizontal netting barriers. The fencing is installed in specific areas to prevent wind blown litter from creating unsightly areas, as well as to manage possible health and safety concerns in the community. A portion of the system is mobile and can be easily moved and relocated – vital during periods of high winds.
Bird Control
Birds are normally attracted to landfill sites for three main reasons: the presence of food sources in the waste stream; available habitat for food, shelter, water, and nesting areas; and the physical layout of the facility, which provides perching sites and thermal lift. Waste Management has developed and maintains an extensive bird control program. It utilizes a multi-faceted harassment system to keep unwanted birds away from the property. Easy to use and humane, it plays distress and predator calls, scaring seagulls from landing, feeding and roosting on the landfill.
In 2006 a monitoring program numbered up to 25,000 seagulls at the site. Today, there are none. This demonstrates Waste Management’s extraordinary efforts and commitment to managing local bird populations.
Dust Control
Levels of dust are also monitored at the facility. They are maintained within acceptable levels determined to be protective of the health and safety of on-site workers and the community. Active mitigation measures include a 15 km/hr speed limit for on-site traffic, and all access roads have hard-packed surfaces to reduce dust generation. Each day up to one million litres of water are sprayed on the site to control dust.
At Waste Management’s insistence and in accordance with its corporate mission to make a positive impact on the environment in every aspect of its business, all site improvement measures stress the use of environmentally sustainable control measures.