When he purchased the property at 325 Church St., with the berm already on it, Breugem admitted he wasn't prepared for the reaction of neighbours.

When opposition mounted to the berm, lobbying by neighbours resulted in involvement by the ministry of environment and Abitibi Bowater, a paper recycling plant in Thorold that had paid a contractor to build the berm in the first place. It had been argued in the past that when properly covered with soil and grass, these types of berms are safe and environmentally friendly as a means of storing sludge.

The sludge was a mixture of old paper fibre, water and clay.

The berm at the Breugem property had not been covered.

Last February an announcement was made by Pelham's Mayor Dave Augustyn, at a closed door meeting with residents, that the 36,000 tonnes of waste paper sludge on the Breugem property would be removed.

A deal between Abitibi Bowater and the berm landowner, had been made.

After building a road into the berm so trucks could haul away the material, it has now been moved to an onsite landfill of Abitibi Bowater in Thorold.

About 75 friends and neighbours gathered for the afternoon get together to share in the victory of its removal.

"This is a great end for a crappy two years," said Wayne Gibson, chair of the berm committee.

"And this celebration is a big thank you to neighbours who supported our efforts to remove the berm."

Lloyd Climenhage, one of the neighbours who spoke out about the berm in the past, pointed out that the decision for its removal "set a precedent" was at the celebration along with his friends.

And so was Lynda Kis, a member of the berm committee who said, "This party is to recognize all those who helped get rid of that berm. We are all so glad to see it go."

The event was also attended by invited guests Augustyn and Tim Hudak, MPP for Niagara West-Glanbrook.

"Today marks the end of the end," said Augustyn.

"This day is about celebrating people coming together with a common purpose and to mark what they accomplished."