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Plan proposes more diversion from landfill
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| DIVERTING MORE: Powell River resident Len Swanson [right] drops off a bag of household garbage at the waste transfer station run by Augusta Recycling Inc., where Jesse Euler is a weight station attendant. Powell River Regional District’s draft solid waste management plan has a waste diversion target of 60 per cent. (laura walz photo) |
Update includes proposals for education coordinator
by Laura Walz | editor@prpeak.com
A revised plan for handling the region’s solid waste focuses on reduction and diversion, while continuing to export garbage out of the community.
Powell River Regional District is in the process of consulting the public on an updated solid waste management plan. It held two open houses last week, one on Texada Island and another in the Town Centre Hotel, to provide residents with a draft plan overview. The regional district has also prepared a survey, which has been mailed to every household.
An advisory committee has been working on updating the 1996 solid waste management plan since 2008. The committee included representatives from the general public, the waste management industry, local businesses, the regional district, the City of Powell River and Tla’Amin (Sliammon) First Nation.
The first phase of the review was an assessment of the current system and the implementation of the 1996 plan. The service review found the recycling rate in the regional district is 42 per cent, 10 points better than the provincial average of 32 per cent. The review also involved an analysis of 2.5 tonnes of waste, which was sorted into 37 categories. Food waste, at 32 per cent, was the single largest category. Recyclables, including paper, plastic and metal, made up over 20 per cent of the waste.
In developing the draft plan, the committee determined that key issues were to: increase efforts at waste reduction; simplify and improve the recycling system, including the handling of glass; find ways of locally managing organic waste; and establish a reliable long-term disposal strategy.
The overall philosophy of the plan is working toward zero. The goal is to have a 60-per-cent waste diversion rate within the next 10 years, which would mean 3,450 tonnes less in landfills. The current system results in a 42-per-cent diversion rate.
The plan includes a recommendation to hire a waste reduction coordinator to promote initiatives aimed at residents, businesses and youth, with a focus on education and promotion of bear aware backyard composting. The plan also recommends conducting a feasibility study for centralized composting of yard, wood and food waste.
A simplification of the recycling stream is another focus in the draft plan. “With a one-stream system, all the recyclables go together,” explained Sarah Wilmot, an environmental planner with AECOM, the consultant on the project. “With a two-stream system, all of your paper products would go in one bag and all of your containers would go in another bag.”
The plan proposes the regional district issue a request for proposals to obtain costs for a simplified recycling system, which would allow officials to compare those costs with the cost of the current system.
Another part of the recycling plan is to find a way to reuse glass locally. “Because there is no market for recycling glass, reusing it locally has quite a lot of appeal,” Wilmot said. “There’s a number of different options for who would use it and what they would do with it. Again, that would go to an RFP [request for proposal] process.”
As for costs, Wilmot said the education program would cost an estimated $7 per household annually. Recycling costs are expected to decrease if the changes are implemented. However, a centralized composting system would involve a major investment, Wilmot said, noting the capital cost for one kind of facility could be as high as $2.5 million. However, there are opportunities to reduce that amount, through grants and using reserves.
Public consultation about the plan continues until November 16. More information is available on the regional district’s website, www.powellriverrd.bc.ca.
Powell River Regional District is in the process of consulting the public on an updated solid waste management plan. It held two open houses last week, one on Texada Island and another in the Town Centre Hotel, to provide residents with a draft plan overview. The regional district has also prepared a survey, which has been mailed to every household.
An advisory committee has been working on updating the 1996 solid waste management plan since 2008. The committee included representatives from the general public, the waste management industry, local businesses, the regional district, the City of Powell River and Tla’Amin (Sliammon) First Nation.
The first phase of the review was an assessment of the current system and the implementation of the 1996 plan. The service review found the recycling rate in the regional district is 42 per cent, 10 points better than the provincial average of 32 per cent. The review also involved an analysis of 2.5 tonnes of waste, which was sorted into 37 categories. Food waste, at 32 per cent, was the single largest category. Recyclables, including paper, plastic and metal, made up over 20 per cent of the waste.
In developing the draft plan, the committee determined that key issues were to: increase efforts at waste reduction; simplify and improve the recycling system, including the handling of glass; find ways of locally managing organic waste; and establish a reliable long-term disposal strategy.
The overall philosophy of the plan is working toward zero. The goal is to have a 60-per-cent waste diversion rate within the next 10 years, which would mean 3,450 tonnes less in landfills. The current system results in a 42-per-cent diversion rate.
The plan includes a recommendation to hire a waste reduction coordinator to promote initiatives aimed at residents, businesses and youth, with a focus on education and promotion of bear aware backyard composting. The plan also recommends conducting a feasibility study for centralized composting of yard, wood and food waste.
A simplification of the recycling stream is another focus in the draft plan. “With a one-stream system, all the recyclables go together,” explained Sarah Wilmot, an environmental planner with AECOM, the consultant on the project. “With a two-stream system, all of your paper products would go in one bag and all of your containers would go in another bag.”
The plan proposes the regional district issue a request for proposals to obtain costs for a simplified recycling system, which would allow officials to compare those costs with the cost of the current system.
Another part of the recycling plan is to find a way to reuse glass locally. “Because there is no market for recycling glass, reusing it locally has quite a lot of appeal,” Wilmot said. “There’s a number of different options for who would use it and what they would do with it. Again, that would go to an RFP [request for proposal] process.”
As for costs, Wilmot said the education program would cost an estimated $7 per household annually. Recycling costs are expected to decrease if the changes are implemented. However, a centralized composting system would involve a major investment, Wilmot said, noting the capital cost for one kind of facility could be as high as $2.5 million. However, there are opportunities to reduce that amount, through grants and using reserves.
Public consultation about the plan continues until November 16. More information is available on the regional district’s website, www.powellriverrd.bc.ca.
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Zorball wrote on Oct 28, 2009 6:23 PM:
The province has decreed that garbage is the domain of the Regional Districts and while this may work well for areas like the Lower Mainland and the Island; here on the Upper Coast, City of Powell River ratepayers who have in the past voted for incineration and have indicated a desire for discussions with Catalyst to that end were championed by Councillor Formosa but were stymied by the “Advisory Committee”.
Two “City” members representing 66% of the population are easily over-trodden by two “businessmen” representing obviously their best interest in maintaining the status-quo, and the remainder of A/C members being made up by Sliammon and the various hinterland districts.
The question of burning garbage was addressed in a one paragraph statement that there was insufficient garbage. The report elsewhere stated it cost twice as much to recycle than to land fill (or burn?) and there was twice the quantity.
My question is, were all the options looked at fairly and completely and without bias?
Did ANY talks with the mill take place?
It’s easy to order the most expensive item on the menu when you’re not the one picking up the tab.
The City should petition the province to be masters of our own garbage and avoid that toxic waste pit once called Robanco.
Democracy = Representation by (non-partisan) population. "