Heather Wright/The Independent ©

York1 Environmental Waste Solutions has sold its stake in the former Dresden dump.

But, there is still a connection to the new owners of the derelict landfill which was slated to reopen as a recycling centre and landfill for Toronto construction waste.

Almost a year to the day the plan by the Mississauga construction giant came to light, York1 sold the property which was once the Dresden Tile Yard to Whitestone Fields LP.

Whitestone is headed by Brian Brunetti, who is listed as the president and COO of York1 Group.

On Feb. 6, 2024, The Independent broke the news about York1’s plans filed on Ontario’s Environmental Registry which would reopen the dormant landfill on the 85-acre property and bring in over 6,000 tonnes per day of construction waste.

The communities of Dawn-Euphemia and Dresden were shocked. But the shock turned to action as community groups rallied against the plans. Chatham-Kent’s officials expressed their outrage. It was revealed later in a Freedom of Information request that administrators behind the project had been meeting with the mayor and members of council since 2019.

By March, the province had ordered the company to go through a full Environmental Assessment for the project. Industry officials said at the time that could take up to 10 years to complete.
If that EA is to go ahead, it is not clear whether York1 will play a part after selling the property for $2,527,965 on Feb. 2.

That’s just $27,965 more than York1 purchased it for from the former owner of Waste Wood Disposal.
Eric Labadie, Chatham-Kent’s manager of corporate communications, says the municipality just learned of the sale of the land through a third party. Dresden CARED, which was formed to oppose the landfill revitalization, said it had contacted Chatham-Kent officials March 13 with the news..

“The municipality is not involved in transfers of the ownership of properties,” writes Labadie in an email. “We were not given any prior indications to suggest there would be a change in ownership, nor would we normally.”

Labadie adds the municipality hasn’t heard from York1 since the provincial government approved the full Environmental Assessment of the project in June.

The Independent reached out multiple times to York1 officials asking about the future of the project. The company has never responded. All information about the Dresden landfill has been removed from York1’s website.

Labadie adds the company which has purchased the property will face the same hurdles as York1 did as it tried to reopen the landfill.

“The regulation applies to the property and not to a specific corporate entity, regardless of who owns the property.”

Little is known about Whiterock Fields other than Brunetti is the president of the company. A corporate profile lists the company’s office at suite in First Canada Place in downtown Toronto.

It also lists two others Andrew Guizzetti and Daniel Guizzetti, brothers who co-founded of Empire Communities, a Toronto developer, and according to the Ontario Home Builders’ Association, one of the province’s top builders of master-planned communities.

They are also co-founders and co-CEOs of Willowdale Asset Management, which was formed in 1993 and once was a division of Empire Communities. It’s billed as a “diversified real estate corporation.”

The company was formed by the Guizzetti brothers and Brunetti in January.
Dresden CARED officials, who are working with the Environmental Defense Fund to stop the expansion, said in a social media post said no matter who owns the land “Our fight continues unimpeded.”