Revitalization of much of the 800 hectares of the waterfront area depends on the ability to deal with soil that has been impacted by decades of industrial uses and that was produced by infilling long ago when standards were not as stringent as today. As part of our sustainability objectives, Waterfront Toronto wants to use the latest and best technologies to wherever possible treat and reuse soil rather than "digging and dumping" contaminated soil in landfill sites in other communities. We are planning to develop a soil recycling facility to store and treat contaminated soil so that it can be reused appropriately in the construction of the revitalized waterfront.

Much of Toronto’s waterfront was constructed by filling in parts of Lake Ontario with materials that are considered contaminated by current standards. Treatment of these soils is needed to allow for revitalization of Toronto’s waterfront, including the development of new parks and public spaces. The purpose of a soil recycling facility is to treat soils near their source, divert soils from landfill, and provide a source of treated soil that can be used in the revitalization of the waterfront.

Prior to committing to a full scale soil recycling facility, Waterfront Toronto proposes to construct a smaller-scale recycling pilot facility. The goals of the pilot are to identify the range of treatment options and costs; confirm that impacted soil can be treated to standards set by the Ministry of the Environment Brownfield Regulation; and showcase treatment technologies.

The proposed pilot facility is a first step in a larger plan to treat contaminated soil to an environmental condition that allows them to be reused in future residential, parkland and commercial areas. Conducting the pilot will enable us to better assess the effectiveness and economic performance of these technologies and optimize operational features before developing a full-scale facility.

If approved by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, the pilot will begin in summer 2010 and will last approximately one year. The proposed 8.2 hectare site located at 294–348 Unwin Avenue, which is owned by Toronto Port Lands Company (formerly TEDCO), is currently zoned industrial and was most recently used for salt storage and aggregate processing.
 

Before being received at the pilot facility, all soil will undergo pre-testing of soil quality and no hazardous waste will be accepted at the facility. Dust control, air monitoring and runoff control measures will be in place.

The soil management facility will operate to ensure that soils within the Designated Waterfront Area are managed in a way that is protective of human health and the natural environment. The soils will be managed in a sustainable manner - as a resource to be reused and recycled to the extent possible within the Designated Waterfront Area. Waterfront Toronto will ensure that sufficient soils of appropriate quality are available when required to support Waterfront Toronto’s revitalization activities, while reducing the need for trucking of soils from collective sources outside of Toronto.

Ultimately, the facility would receive up to 2,500 tonnes of impacted soil per day to a maximum stockpile of 300,000 cubic metres.

Learn more about Waterfront Toronto’s Soil Management Approach.