Colchester recycling facility set to reopen after COVID-19 shutdown

The Colchester Material Recovery Facility is set to reopen July 20 after being shut down since March due to the pandemic.

The plant is not big enough to allow workers to sort recyclables and maintain proper physical distancing. So the municipality has purchased air-purifying respirators for the facility's employees.

"With this specialized equipment we believe they can work in closer quarters," said Colchester County Mayor Christine Blair. "They should be safe."

Workers will arrive for their shifts at staggered times. The lunchroom has been moved to a larger space, the locker-room has been reconfigured and extra cleaning staff have been hired.

The Department of Environment gave the municipalities of Colchester County and the District of Guysborough, which send their recyclables to the Colchester facility, permission to instead send them to landfill.

A spokesperson for the Environment Department said in an email that the current arrangement to send recyclables to landfill expires July 20.

Blair expects an influx of material once the plant reopens.

"Some people have been keeping it at their home instead of sending it to the landfill," said Blair. "I kept mine and I've probably got 10 blue bags right now."

Blair acknowledges that not everyone has had the room to do that.

A final tally of the blue-bag material sent to the landfill will be done after the recycling facility reopens. But Colchester officials estimate that two per cent of the total amount sent to their landfill over the four-month period was recyclables.

A spokesperson for Guysborough said in an email that a tally of the recyclables that ended up in its landfill site will also be done after the July 20 deadline.

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