Media Releases

Important notice re: Cumberland Central Landfill

The Towns of Amherst & Oxford and the Municipality of Cumberland currently share ownership of the Cumberland Central Landfill, or as some people know it Little Forks Landfill. Operation of the Cumberland Central Landfill is managed by the Cumberland Joint Services Management Authority (CJSMA). CJSMA answers to a board which is made up of representatives of the towns and municipality.

The Cumberland Central Landfill services include:

• waste disposal in the on-site landfill
• organics (green carts) processing in the on-site composting facility
• recycling transferred to off-site recovery facilities (this process is currently limited by COVID-19 restrictions at the recycling facilities)
• construction and demolition waste disposal in a dedicated on-site landfill
• treatment of septic tank pumping and landfill leachate in the on-site treatment plant

All aspects of the Cumberland Central Landfill must comply with strict regulations set out by the Nova Scotia Department of Environment. As environmental regulations continue to get stricter, costly upgrades are needed, and operating costs will increase in a way that are both unpredictable and beyond the control of the CJSMA. One way to stabilize the costs is to sell the landfill to a company specializing in solid waste management under an agreement with predictable long-term tipping fees.

A joint request for proposals to purchase and operate the landfill was issued by the towns and municipality in June 2020. Since then, councillors and mayors have received many questions and a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) has been compiled.

To see the list of FAQs, go to http://www.cjsma.ns.ca/pdfs/2021/Cumberland_waste_Qs_and_As.pdf

If you do not have access to a computer or would like a paper copy of the FAQs, please contact one of the following:

Town of AmherstTown of This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Municipality of CumberlandMunicipality of This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Town of OxfordTown of This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

If you have questions you’d like added to the FAQs please contact Amanda MacLeod 902-664-9736 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.