Warning message

Please note that this page is from our archives. There may be more up-to-date content about this topic on our website. Use our search engine to find out.

Sydney A 9-to-8 vote by CBRM council today in favour of closing the regional governments incineration plant and trucking garbage all the way to Guysborough may come back to haunt the local government.

That reaction to todays close vote comes from the union representing CBRM outside workers, CUPE Local 759. Local 759 president Allan Clarke says, To add insult to injury, the decision has been made with absolutely no input from the front-line workers who deliver solid waste services to CBRM residents.

Says Clarke, While we knew the incineration plant was going to be closed, we did not expect it to happen so quickly (end of this year). We are extremely concerned about what will happen to those workers, especially since we have not seen a thing from the employer about supposed early retirement packages.

The decision to sign a 20-year contract to truck the regions garbage to Guysborough is one which is puzzling to say the least. Not only does it make no economic sense, with contract clauses that virtually guarantee the costs will go up, it makes no environmental sense. CBRM needs to be dealing with its own garbage at source, by moving to a wet/dry system of recycling and diverting our waste from landfills.

Clarke also says, We will be working with the seven councillors and the mayor who voted against this scheme, to make sure that CBRM comes into the 21st century with regard to the recycling and composting of our regions waste. CUPEs vision for solid waste is a much greener one than what we have seen from this council today.

Wed also like those eight elected officials to know that CUPE acknowledges their foresight on this important issue. CBRMs problems with solid waste are not going to be solved with backwards-thinking decisions like the one that was made today, says Clarke.

“This council has not heard the last from us on this, not by a long shot, adds Clarke.

For information:
Allan Clarke, President, Local 759, 578-5938 (Cell);
John McCracken, CUPE Communications Rep., (902) 455-4180 (o).