qathet Regional District (qRD) staff and the Peak were taken on a tour of the resource-recovery centre and transfer station to highlight and familiarize the facility which is rapidly taking shape.
On the September 15 tour, qRD project coordinator Mike Wall said that the former City of Powell River solid waste operation at the site was shut down by the minister of environment. He said the city, as the permit holder, had an obligation to clean up the former incinerator and waste transfer site, develop a closure plan, and close the site, meeting the ministry’s approval. This was to be borne by the city’s taxpayers, according to Wall.
“There was conversation at the mayor and council and regional boards level, that led, in 2012, the regional board to direct staff to assist the city in the closure planning process, which began in 2014,” added Wall. “The planning process went through, and through various agreements, the solid waste management plan development was supported by all three local governments, and multiple grant applications were made.”
A $6 million grant was procured to assist with the process of establishing the new site, and there has since been borrowing to continue with the project.
Wall said there has now been a cleanup of the site and closure is complete. Construction of the resource-recovery centre and transfer station is well underway, with full operation scheduled for mid-2024, according to Wall.
“When completed, the project will provide a state-of-the-art waste management facility and approximately half of the remediated site returned for public amenities,” said Wall. “Once this is all done, the site will have four allowable end uses, and these are directed by the ministry of environment.”
Wall said these will include overflow parking for Willingdon Beach functions, botanical gardens, public trails and also the resource-recovery centre and transfer station.
He said that the expansive area has been decontaminated and revegetated, and approximately half will be given back to the city when the project is complete. The centre and waste management facility piece is under lease between the city and the regional district; the regional district is going to manage the solid waste operation, according to Wall.
Standing at the overflow parking area before leading the tour, Wall said that the area had been filled with marine debris, such as materials from the revamping of the north harbour. He said it had all been cleaned up and the surfacing of the lot was from repurposed materials from concrete and asphalt disposed of at the site.
“We found somebody who could grind those together and it’s been used for the surfacing for the roads and trails in the parking area,” he added.
Wall and Let’s Talk Trash team member Tai Uhlmann then led the tour up to an ash excavation area, which had materials from the fire at the former Safeway building in Westview, with a bunch of asphalt roofing that had been melted in the fire. When it was removed it was found that there was a natural water spring below it.
Wall said for years, petroleum was heading down toward the ocean, but it is all cleaned up now. He said there will also be stormwater runoff in the area, which will be filtered out by a natural asset, which will result in less maintenance over time.
Encouraging diversion
The tour wound through to the extended producer responsibility (EPR) area, where residents will bring their recycling. Uhlmann said the EPR portion of the facility would have a free store supervised by the site supervisor and diversion specialist, and the main area for recycling would be on the main floor. The facility will encourage as much diversion as possible.
Uhlmann said there will be a hybrid staffing model for the site, which will be managed and staffed by qRD: a manager, a site supervisor/diversion specialist, and scale house attendants. There will also be contracted staff being employed at the site for the transfer station, recycling station and other functions.
Uhlmann said after the recyclables are brought to the main floor by people dropping them off, they will be transferred to a lower floor for storage and shipping by staff.
Wall said some trees had to be taken down at the site and they were sent to a local sawmill and made into lumber. He said qRD has been storing and drying the lumber ever since. The lumber will be used on construction at the site.
“We didn’t waste anything here,” said Wall. “If it came down, it’s becoming part of the buildings.”
He said as for the diversion opportunities at the resource-recovery centre, they are part of the solid waste management plan that has been approved by the ministry of environment.
Uhlmann said efforts will be made to keep as many materials as possible out of the garbage.
The tour then moved to the scale house that is being built, where garbage will be weighed. Wall said it is the financial brains of the operation and the data centre. The scale house has been built with accessibility in mind and could prospectively employ persons with mobility challenges.
Moving into the transfer station area, it is expansive, with the office situated near the old incinerator site. The hulk of the old incinerator is still standing, reminding those using the services of the facility just how far solid waste management has come since the old days of burning garbage. The transfer station is under construction, where municipal solid waste will be dropped off.
The tour then highlighted the outdoor classroom area, the pond that is part of the natural area of the facility, the ocean plastic depot, and a pasture-like area that can be used as an amphitheatre.
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