Heather Wright/The Independent

York1 Environmental says it will begin using the Dresden dump for waste transfer and processing this year.

That after trucks rolled up to the gates on Irish School Road Monday. 

It took just minutes for the word to make the rounds on social media. “Not looking good!” said Gabe McFadden, posting a picture of a line of blue York1 Environmental trucks waiting to get into the former Dresden Dump on Irish School Road Monday.

The company bought the property in 2022 and plans to turn it into a construction waste recycling plant and rebuild and expand the dump used for fly ash from Dresden’s incinerator in the 1960s. York1’s project will bring up to 700 trucks carrying 6,000 tonnes of material a day to the site less than a kilometre from Dresden and surrounded by homes.

Residents fought the move and won a reprieve when the Ford government agreed the project should go through an Environmental Assessment, the most vigorous investigation possible. That was 2024. 

In April, the province introduced Bill 5 and that changed. 

The Unleashing the Economy Act contained a clause which allowed York1 to set up the project under the Environment Compliance Approval process as it planned in the beginning. It has far less public input and less study of issues like leachate and stormwater runoff into nearby Molly’s Creek.

When the act passed in June, residents waited to see how quickly the company would act. Monday, as the York1 employees pulled up with an excavator and a small building, tension was high.

“They are here,” wrote Joe Galos, who also posted photos. “Call your MPP and tell them to retract Bill 5.”

Not everyone wanted to go that route.

“I don’t think calling our MPP or any MPP is going to retract anything. It comes down to this; if you don’t want the landfill being built on top of Dresden then the town will have to turn to civil disobedience and take blockade actions to prevent York1 access to the site. It’s as simple as that,” said Activist Kevin Jakubec who has been advocating for a blockage since Bill 5 passed.

Politicians were looking for answers. “I have been contacted by quite a few residents from Dresden today who have shared some pictures and concerns with me. It appears there was a lot of activity at the York1 site today, and many people have asked if we have any knowledge authority or governance over what is currently happening there,” asked Chatham-Kent Councillor Rhonda Jubenville, who represents Dresden council’s Monday meeting.

Chatham-Kent’s CAO, Michael Duben, had heard from residents as well and knew about “the activity happening” at the old dump. “It’s really hard to say whether or not we have any authority,” he said.

“They have the right to use their property legally like anybody else does. We will be keeping an eye on them,” Duben said adding if the municipality sees any activity beyond the normal work allowed under the current approvals at the site, “we will be reminding them what their zoning is.”

York1’s spokesperson says the company is simply cleaning the site so it can begin using it under the approvals which Waste Wood Limited operated under until the larger recycling project receives ECA approval.

“York1 has mobilized a small crew and several pieces of heavy equipment to carry out housekeeping, prep work and safety work on the Dresden property,” said Spokesperson Laryssa Waler in an email to The Independent.

“Tasks underway – grounds clean‑up, grading, removal of legacy debris and installation of basic environmental controls—are all activities that are expressly permitted under the site’s existing Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA), which was originally issued to Waste Wood Disposal Ltd. “

Waler says over the next month or two the work will include “site prep work with no new material is being brought to, stored on, or landfilled at the property. 

“For 2025, we will operate the site under the existing non-amended ECA for waste transfer and processing. Operations will be similar to the previous operator Waste Wood Disposal Ltd.”

“Our goal is to stabilize and modernize this site,” the York1 spokesperson wrote.  

Waler says the company plans to apply to amend that ECA “so we can transition it into a modern Regenerative Recycling Facility that will handle only non‑hazardous construction and demolition materials.”

Waler reiterated the Dresden site would not accept household waste and  “is designed with engineered liners, groundwater protection systems and other best‑in‑class environmental safeguards.”

Waler expects that approval could take a year and construction on the recycling facility could start in 2027. 

Until then, municipal leaders in Chatham-Kent are asking residents to call them if they see anything concerning such as buildings going up or earth being moved beyond what is legal at the old dump. 

“I just would urge people to do so legally,” Duben said Monday.

“I’d hate to see somebody get hurt or be charged for trespassing. We’ll make sure that our enforcement people drop by from time to time as well.”