Recycling operations and residential communities can make poor neighbours.
One is trying to make a living, the other is concerned with qualify of life.
Brad Morin, who lives in Barrie’s Phillips Street area, said he was at work when All Ontario Recycling had its fire this past summer.
“When I came home, it smelled. It was pretty toxic, I guess,” he told BarrieToday. “You could smell the rubber.”
His brother, Matt, noted there are chickens on their property.
“It smelled bad and the animals didn’t like it,” he said.
Brad said his recollection is the property now occupied by All Ontario Recycling was a junkyard until six or seven years ago, then it became a recycling facility.
Lou, who didn’t want his last name used, said he has lived on Phillips Street for about 17 years and noted there’s been a recycling facility at 359 Tiffin St., between Ferndale Drive and Patterson Road, for a long time.
“But once the residential areas get built up, they should get rid of those things,” he said, gesturing toward All Ontario Recycling.
“It’s terrible,” Lou said of the Aug. 19 fire. “The dust in the air, the stink in the air. We are breathing that stuff all the time. We got home two-and-a-half hours after (the fire) and there was smoke all through the air.
“Tires, old oil, you just never know what is in there. I know it’s someone’s livelihood, but there are health issues," he added.
An All Ontario Recycling company official declined comment when contacted by BarrieToday.
City firefighters were called to 359 Tiffin at about 11 a.m. on Aug. 19 for a blaze involving "a very large pile" of scrap metal cars, according to Barrie Fire and Emergency Service (BFES). Thick plumes of black and grey smoke from the fire scene could be seen throughout the city.
A Barrie Fire official told BarrieToday the fire was outside the building and involved several recycled vehicles.
"Caller advises there are a bunch of vehicles on fire in the back of the yard," says what’s called the BFES incident narrative, obtained by BarrieToday through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request from the City of Barrie.
The incident narrative also states "shred pile is on fire," "they are pulling the pile apart with machinery" and "large working trash fire."
The FOI documents BarrieToday received also included an officer narrative, although the BFES officer is not specifically identified.
"The fire was extremely large but contained to the large pile of shred metal," it reads. "I met with HR (human resources) staff who reported all employees evacuated and were accounted for.
"She also identified a crane operator who was working in (the) area and was the first witness to see the fire. The crane operator was loading a truck with shred when he noticed the fire out of the corner of his eye," it says. "The crane operator sounded his horn, which triggered the evacuation and (he) tried to separate the material on fire using his crane to stop the spread, but the fire grew too quickly and (he) had to retreat."
The estimated dollar loss, according to Barrie Fire, was $50,000 in contents, but nothing in terms of the property.
Coun. Nigussie Nigussie, who represents this part Barrie, said he’s always concerned about the mixed uses — residential homes, recycling operations — within Ward 6.
“I believe recycling facilities like this follow strict environmental requirements and protocols,” he told BarrieToday. “From a planning perspective, as far as I am aware there has been a recycling materials recovery or wrecking yard on this property since prior to the 1970s.”
Tim Donis, chief fire prevention officer with BFES, said recycling operations can pose a multitude of risks to firefighters.
“Dangers include ignition risks with lithium-ion batteries, off-gassing of hazardous chemicals, decanting contents requiring grounding and bonding can cause chemical reactions and in some circumstances can result in fire or explosion,” he said. “Additionally, runoff can impact the environment by contaminating nearby or underground waterways.
“Response to these facilities may involve more personnel and special precautions given the unknown quantity and types of contents found in waste of all kinds,” Donis added. “Both runoff from rain and smoke from fire can pose a hazard to the public.”
BarrieToday identified six city recycling facilities and requested, through FOI, documents on fires at those addresses from Aug. 20, 2019 until Aug. 19, 2024.
FOI documents identified two fires — at All Ontario Recycling this past August and at 220 John St., on May 9, 2023.
Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks says it was not made aware of any incident occurring May 9, 2023 and, as such, was not involved with a response.
The incident at 220 John St. was described in the BFES officer narrative as a "dust extractor with smouldering material located in (the) yard away from structure," and was extinguished by firefighters. There was no estimated dollar loss.
Ministry spokesman Gary Wheeler said the All Ontario Recycling on Aug. 19 fire remains on its radar.
“Ministry staff attended the site that day and didn’t observe any adverse impacts to the natural environment,” he said. “The ministry is engaging with the company to create contingency plans and enhance stormwater management measures at the site.
“We have required the company to submit a report of the Aug. 19 fire, which details the cause, clean-up efforts taken and measures that have been implemented to prevent a recurrence,” Wheeler said.
The report is pending, he said.
In Barrie, permitted uses on properties zoned general industrial and restricted industrial in the city’s comprehensive zoning bylaw (2009) include a material recovery facility and/or a recyclable materials transfer station, operating within a fully enclosed building.
Barrie is in the process of approving a new zoning bylaw, and the definitions for these types of uses are slightly different. These uses are permitted on land zoned employment industrial and in employment restricted industrial, once the zoning exists.
All such uses must have an Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA), essentially a licence, which is required for the transportation, management and/or disposal of certain types of waste as outlined in the Environmental Protection Act (EPA).
All Ontario Recycling is located on land zoned restricted industrial.
