The RMs of Woodlands and Rockwood are going to be closing a shared landfill. The Argyle Waste Disposal Site is situated in the RM of Woodlands but also services those at the western side of Rockwood. Woodlands Reeve Trevor King says a majority of the site's use is by those in Rockwood, but Rockwood's Council has decided against continuing the operation of the facility. King says this has been discussed for about five years so far, and they now intend to close the site before the end of the year. However, there are significant costs associated with environmental remediation and monitoring when closing the landfill, so the two municipalities will be sharing those costs.

"There are some significant costs to closing it down. We don't want to take on those responsibilities on our own. We felt we've shared the landfill site as two municipalities as we've kept it open, and felt it was only fair to share those landfill costs in closing it."

Some of the work associated with closing the site includes filling in the landfill cell, as well as monitoring the ground water into the future to ensure there is no contamination.

King says the closure shouldn't come as a surprise, as they've discussed the matter with residents several times during the ongoing discussions. He says there have been some concerned expressed over the years, and while they've tried to keep it open they're unable to do so without Rockwood's participation. King explains they're not leaving Woodlands residents without options, but says they may have to travel a bit further.

"We still have our main landfill site in the Marquette, Woodlands, Meadowlea area. We still have that landfill, and it's not like our residents don't have anywhere to go. It definitely will mean more travel for some of the eastern residents of our municipality."

The Argyle Waste Disposal Ground's expected to be closing around the end of October.