CALGARY - XL foods dumped hundreds of tonnes of beef at a landfill in Brooks on Sunday.
The process started on Saturday, and by Sunday evening workers at the Newell Regional Landfill had unloaded more than 50 truckloads of XL beef products.
Ray Juska, the owner of the landfill says while some hamburger meat has been disposed of, the products that have been dumped so far include trimmings like tongue, heart and liver.
Juska says they had hoped it wouldn't come to this and adds that his workers are covering the boxes with dirt to keep animals away.
It's still unclear how much of the meat will end up at the landfill in Brooks, as the Canadian Food Inspection Agency hasn't indicated the exact number of products being recalled. It does say the number is somewhere between 1,800 and 2,000 products.
The Mayor of Brooks, Martin Shields says the location had about 5,000 head of cattle.
The move to dispose of the beef isn't sitting well with locals.
"There could have been a lot of ways it could have been used here and other places," explains Shields. "Just to go to the landfill seems like an incredible waste."
Some of the non-recalled beef is being rendered and cooked at a high temperature, to get rid of any possible E.coli contamination. That beef may be sent to market, but under strict supervision by the CFIA.
The plant's new managers are meeting with employees on Monday to discuss the safety protocols needed to get the plant back up and running.
At this time it's still not known when the plant will reopen.
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