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Truck spills load of human waste on Highway 400

'I’m sure we’ll have some really green grass up there on the 400 and Duckworth later on in the spring': Schmidt
2018-04-13 Hwy 400 Human Waste OPP
A truck carrying human waste spilled part of its load onto Highway 400 in Barrie on Friday, resulting in a pair of northbound lanes being closed while crews cleaned up the area. OPP/Photo

Provincial police had to close a pair of northbound lanes on Highway 400 in Barrie, Friday, after a large truck carrying human waste dropped part of its load.

“I’m sure we’ll have some really green grass up there on the 400 and Duckworth later on in the spring,” Sgt. Kerry Schmidt, of the OPP’s Highway Safety Division, told BarrieToday.

The highway was wiped down and all lanes had reopened by the early afternoon.

Schmidt said the truck was heading up north with the load of human waste to be turned into fertilizer.

The sergeant said the incident appears to have been caused by a couple of fender benders around the truck.

“As that was happening, cars were slamming on the brakes,” he said. “The one truck got cut off, apparently. He had to slam on his brakes and in doing so, his load of human waste shifted forward, went up over the bulkhead and baffles and sloshed right onto the truck and down onto the road.

“It caused a big mess,” Schmidt added.

The Ministry of the Environment was called in to assess the situation and clean up the area.

“It wasn’t dangerous goods by any means, or hazardous material… but the Ministry of the Environment said there was enough (human waste) spilled that it needed to be cleaned up properly,” he added. “They brought in heavy equipment to do the vacuuming and cleaning.”