Ottawa city council is moving forward with the next steps toward purchasing a privately owned landfill site in the city’s east end — a deal reported to be worth roughly $95 million — in a move city leaders say will secure long-term waste disposal capacity.
But several rural councillors are warning that the decision is premature and risks locking the city into an environmentally and financially costly path before alternative waste solutions are fully explored.
An update will be provided to councillors at the Wednesday city council meeting, at which point they will vote on whether to proceed with purchasing the property. Until now, many of the discussions surrounding the purchase, including the price, has been confidential.
The 192-hectare property, known as the Capital Region Resource Recovery Centre, already holds provincial approvals to operate as a dump. Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and supporting councillors have argued that purchasing the site ensures the city maintains control over critical waste infrastructure rather than leaving it in private hands.
“This would remain a landfill no matter who owns it,” Sutcliffe said during council debate, arguing municipal ownership provides greater public oversight and accountability.
But Osgoode Ward Coun. Isabelle Skalski, one of five councillors who voted against the purchase, says the problem lies with the site itself.
“I don’t agree with the site being a suitable location for a city landfill at all,” Skalski told the Ottawa Lookout. “That’s really at the crux of my decision not to support it.”
Skalski has been working with residents in her ward, many of whom rely on well water and fear contamination risks. She also said she worries the city is buying what appears to be a ready-made solution without fully understanding the long-term implications.
“My concern is that we’re buying a solution before actually looking at the bigger picture,” she said. “There could be significant costs associated with developing this site that haven’t been fully considered or given proper community input.”
She also pushed back on the argument that municipal ownership alone addresses local concerns.
“Whether it’s privately or publicly owned, it’s still subject to the same provincial requirements,” she said. “What matters to residents is groundwater safety, environmental impacts, nuisance, odours — those issues exist regardless of who owns it. This is the cart before the horse.”
The option of waste-to-energy
City staff are expected to bring forward a comprehensive solid-waste strategy in early 2027. That report will examine three main pathways: expanding landfill capacity, contracting private landfill disposal, or adopting new waste-processing technology — including waste-to-energy systems.
Waste-to-energy technology uses high-temperature thermal treatment to convert garbage into electricity or heat while reducing the volume of residual waste requiring disposal. Modern systems include incineration with advanced emissions controls, gasification, and pyrolysis. City staff have previously noted that while these facilities carry high upfront capital costs, they can significantly reduce long-term reliance on landfill space and lower environmental risks associated with buried waste.
Ottawa has studied waste-to-energy in past years but has never advanced a project to construction. The upcoming 2027 strategy is expected to revisit the option alongside updated cost comparisons, environmental assessments, and potential sites. City officials have also indicated that any future waste-to-energy proposal would require extensive public consultation and provincial approvals.
Rural councillor David Brown, who represents the neighbouring ward of Rideau-Jock, also voted against the purchase. He told the Lookout that rural Ottawa disproportionately shoulders the burden of unpopular citywide infrastructure decisions.
“I can make a joke in poor taste and say Ottawa only finds the rural area twice a year — on tax days,” Brown said. “Well, they found us again yesterday. Every time the city needs a controversial service, it ends up in rural Ottawa.”
Brown noted that no landfill would ever be placed inside the urban boundary, meaning rural communities inevitably become the default location.
While Brown acknowledged the mayor’s point that the site will operate as a landfill regardless of ownership, he said he worries the purchase could weaken momentum toward more sustainable technology.
“I’m concerned with rhetoric I’m hearing that says we don’t need to talk about waste-to-energy anymore because we’ve found another place to bury garbage,” he said.
Brown has long advocated for a modern waste-to-energy facility and says rural residents would rather host technology that provides a lasting solution than another landfill.
“My ward is ready to take a modern, progressive, technologically advanced waste-to-energy facility,” he said. “But we are not ready to just be the next dumpster.”
The city’s existing Trail Road dump – located in Brown’s ward – is nearing capacity and will be at its max in the next eight to 10 years. He says that reality makes it even more important that Ottawa commits to long-term sustainable waste solutions rather than defaulting to new landfill space.
“If it’s going to be a waste facility, then make it a waste-to-energy facility — something that actually solves the problem, not just another hole in the ground,” Brown said.
The new dump has a capacity for upwards of 450,000 tonnes of garbage yearly with a lifespan of about 30 years. While a big financial burden for the city, it is still cheaper than the net value of $110 million to $140 million.
The purchase price of $95 million plus applicable taxes and closing costs would be funded through debt, with debt servicing covered by the solid waste fee, city staff said. The initial impact on solid waste fees would be short-term, but it “would balance out over time”, according to the staff report. Solid waste fees for 2026 would stay the same, with the increase set to start in 2027 when the debt servicing costs begin.
