City council passed three resolutions Feb. 16 approving new equipment and space for the Thompson Recycling Centre (TRC), which will cost the city $189,000.
City council unanimously approved a resolution allowing the purchase of a ready-to-move (RTM) property that will house the centre's office, lunchroom and washroom space so that the current rooms will be able to be used for internal storage. The purchase will be made from ATCO Structures & Logistics Ltd. and is not to exceed $62,580 including all taxes and delivery. Council also passed a resolution to approve the purchase of two skid steer Bobcats from for the TRC unanimously, at a price of $80,627.74 including all shipping fees and taxes, from Bobcat Central in Winnipeg.
The resolutions state that the new space and equipment will "scientifically increate the TRC's production capacity" and "significantly improve the safety of employees working at the TRC.
"Right now everything at the recycling centre is done manually, so if material is dumped, the workers are going to where the waste is and they go through everything," says Coun. Charlene Lafreniere, who seconded the motions. "This way It's a whole new design for the sort line, so it's a whole new system."
Council is hoping that the new space and equipment will help modernize the TRC, which has been plagued by problem after problem in the last few years. Just recently the facility had to suspend service after an infestation of mice in January. Both curbside pickup and drop off depots were suspended and residents were asked instead to store their rinsed and sorted recycling. The problem was caused by food residue on recyclables and an influx of recyclable materials creating an overload at the centre. Melissa Branconnier, co-chair of the board of directors of the TRC, says the incident was worked out with the city of Thompson's two-person health and safety staff who drafted a health and safety document. An exterminator made trips to Thompson to deal with the situation.
Coun. Erin Stewart says that the city is working hard at moving forward with the modernization of the TRC and expressed her gratitude to the citizens of Thompson for being patient with the suspensions of service recently.
