The city is hiring a consultant to prepare design and tender documents for a waste diversion facility in North Bay.
Council approved the motion on Tuesday night.
A staff report says the lease for the current Household Hazardous Waste Depot is set to expire in 2025.
It also says a new site is needed to accommodate an increase in items and to make waste diversion of other products, such as mattresses, more accessible.
Councillor Lana Mitchell, Chair of Infrastructure and Operations, says she’s excited the city is expanding its waste diversion facility and options.
“I look forward to ensuring we have a facility that has the space, the environmental and health and safety needs that meet all the needs of our staff and citizens,” she says.
Councillor Mark King supported the motion but wondered if someone could do the work in-house.
“I just find the cost, $302,000, being extreme,” he says. “I don’t know why we don’t have someone inside our engineering department that couldn’t come up with some sort of a plan, put it towards council and move on so we avoid those extra costs.”
Along with a new Household Hazardous Waste Depot with increased storage capacity, a staff report says the waste diversion facility will include a drop-off depot for leaf and yard waste, electronics, scrap metal, blue box material and mattresses.
