New dump 'exceeding expectations' despite complaints about tipping fees

Central Newfoundland's brand new $22 million waste facility is officially open, but the dump is busy dealing with complaints over tipping fees.

The centre in Norris Arm will sort through about 15,000 tonnes of trash every year.

Now fully operational, the facility will mean 24 new full-time jobs when working at capacity.

Central Newfoundland started mandatory recycling in April, and waste management authority chair Allen Scott said curbside sorting has been going great.

"We're getting what we expected — actually," he said. "We're exceeding our expectations."

Despite that, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business says businesses are being charged too much to drop off waste at the site.

The tipping fees for businesses to drop things off at the dump are set to rise to $180 per tonne next month, about double that of other sorting centres on the island.

Scott said the fees are just the cost of doing business.

"We provide a service and we have to have the revenues to pay for that particular service," he said.

"We're not for profit — so we only charge what we need in order to operate."