A petition in southeast Calgary is gaining steam, pushing for a permanent closure of the ECCO recycling facility, the site of a landfill fire for the past two weeks.

Fire crews continue the suppression operations at the site, which borders Shepard Industrial and the communities of Quarry Park and Douglas Glen in Calgary’s southeast.

Quarry Park resident Aymie Rondeau, who has lived in the area for 13 years,  launched the Change.org petition calling for the permanent end to landfill operations at the 10114 – 24 Street SE site, and there are already nearly 1,000 people who have signed it as of Saturday afternoon.

Rondeau said that, to her knowledge, ECCO has a provincial permit to continue at the site until June 2027 (EPEA Approval 19045-02-00). The City of Calgary development permit prohibited the acceptance of new landfill waste after December 31, 2024.

“My ask is that no further renewals, amendments, extensions, etcetera, be permitted or provided, and that they are forced to work towards an accelerated reclamation plan. Get the site cleaned up,” she said.

“It does not make sense to have a facility like that right in the middle of a residential neighbourhood.”

The City of Calgary sought and was awarded a court injunction on the storage of dry waste at the ECCO recycling site. They continued to pursue legal action to force the discontinuation of operations at the dry waste landfill site and have it decommissioned.

Meanwhile, the Calgary Fire Department said Friday afternoon that the fire remains under control and they focused on accessing, isolating and extinguishing the buried burning material.

They said that crews had identified several underground utility access points buried beneath the landfill material and are believed to be contributing to the reignition of the fire by allowing oxygen to travel underground through pipes and culvert systems.

Crews were trying to cap visible openings and pile soil around elevated openings to allow them to reach the gaps to restrict airflow.

Earlier this week, Calgary fire Chief Steve Dongworth said that the burn could take weeks to fully put out.

Residents dealing with ongoing smoke issues from ECCO facility

Rondeau said that from her residence she can look straight from her front door, down the street at the ECCO recycling facility.

She said that fortunately, when the fire was at its peak last week, she was out of town. A friend who was checking on her home said that it was just thick, black smoke coming from the site, blanketing the community.

“I definitely noticed the smell when I got back to Calgary on Tuesday this week, and yeah, I mean, even just since being home from Tuesday, I’ve had headaches,” she said.  

“I haven’t really been outside. I have two big dogs. I’m trying to walk them.”

On Saturday, fire officials said that smoke conditions had improved, though residents in the area may continue to experience localized smoke and odours as efforts at the site continue.

“Smoke conditions can change as crews excavate and extinguish buried hot spots and as weather conditions shift,” they said.

Residents may continue to see smoke, smell odours and see visible flames as they continue to expose and douse buried burning material.

Rondeau said that smoke conditions had improved in the area, but she was worried about the long-term health impacts for herself and her neighbours from prolonged exposure to the plume. She also had concerns about general public safety at the site, given that access across the site has been a challenge, along with sporadic access to fire hydrants.

“As someone who’s like blocked away, that if the fire department can’t get in there quickly, well, then what risk are you posing to the people and the businesses that are like literally across the street?” Rondeau said.

For now, it’s a waiting game for her and thousands of southeast Calgary residents to see how long it takes to put the fire out, and then how quickly the site can be shut down. She’s hoping the deluge of signatures lights a fire under the province and the city to take action.

“This isn’t talking about shutting down landfills and putting the trash in the Bow River,” she said.

“This is about how the city has changed. The city’s now grown around this site. We need to move this out.”