Judge doesn’t budge on Toronto sludge

On Friday an Ontario Superior Court judge rejected the city of Toronto’s request to force Republic Services to accept the city’s sewage sludge. According to a Toronto Star report, Toronto filed an affidavit arguing that the city is capable of handling half of the 12 to 15 truckloads of sludge it produces each day, but faced “a serious problem of disposal of the rest.”

In her decision, Madam Justice Katherine Swinton, cited public comments made by Toronto Mayor David Miller and Councilor Shelley Carroll that would seem to contravene the city’s stated helplessness. In recently published statements, both officials argued that the city was capable of handling the sewage in the short term. Additionally, Swinton said the court was not in a position to rule on how Republic should handle the waste, especially when that ruling could conflict with Michigan state laws.

Toronto plans to pursue arbitration with Republic while it seeks a long-term treatment and disposal solution for its sludge.