qathet Regional District’s resource-recovery centre [RRC] is nearing completion. Work is now being finalized throughout the facility to prepare for recycling and disposal of solid waste from throughout the region.
According to qRD manager of asset management and strategic initiatives Arnold Schwabe, it is expected that the centre will be in use in mid-August, processing solid waste from City of Powell River garbage trucks. There will be a phased-in approach for use of the new facility, with access for residents occurring later on.
The facility has been constructed to be as environmentally friendly as possible. The buildings have been built with passive lighting systems, allowing daylight to augment LED illumination in the buildings. There have also been charging stations installed in the resource-recovery centre, with plans to use electric vehicles on site.
Efforts have been made to recycle and upcycle materials from the old incinerator site. For example, trees that were felled have been milled locally and used as wooden structures in places such as the EPR [extended producer responsibility] building, where recyclables will be collected. The wood has been used on the front of the building as part of the support structure and provides a natural-looking entrance to the building.
Wood from the property has also been used at the RRC to create cabinetry, tables and other interior structures.
Local artisans have also been retained to add to the look of the RRC. Colin MacRae has helped with the metal structure on the signage leading into the RRC, and is also working on a sculpture that will be displayed in front of the EPR building. Both structures are using metals that have been collected at the site.
Efforts have also been made to maintain the natural terrain that surrounds the RRC property. There is a natural amphitheatre on the property, as well as some water features that have attracted bears trying to cool off in the summer heat.
Eventually, there will be a pathway for walkers and cyclists that will help them avoid the dangerous traffic in the cut surrounding the RRC, leading them through a naturally wooded area, from just above Willingdon Beach to Highway 101.
In designing the RRC, qRD staff and members of the Let’s Talk Trash team travelled to other solid waste facilities around the coast, integrating the best ideas and best practices into the qRD facility, to provide a modern, functional and environmentally friendly facility to deal with the region’s solid waste.
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