A comprehensive plan to manage and reduce the amount of waste headed to landfill has been approved by the Cowichan Valley Regional District’s board of directors.
The board was presented the results of a robust process to draft the 2018 Solid Waste Management Plan Update at its regional services committee meeting Oct. 24, informed by a stakeholder-led Plan Advisory Committee, an Oversight Committee of four CVRD directors and regional public consultation. The Board approved the SWMP at its regular board meeting at the recommendation of the committee.
“The implementation of this updated Solid Waste Management Plan will be critical for meeting B.C. Ministry of Environment & Climate Change Strategy’s provincial targets for annual per capita solid waste, and solving region-specific issues like recycling contamination,” said Ian Morrison, vice chair of the CVRD. “We appreciate the work of staff, the dedication of the participating PAC members, and the hundreds of residents who provided input and feedback on the draft plan throughout 2018.”
The plan sets out new waste reduction targets for the region and proposes a total of 13 strategies for managing municipal solid waste over the next 10 years, with a long-term vision of 25 years. This is the fourth amendment to the SWMP since it was first prepared in 1995. Once approved by the Ministry of Environment & Climate Change Strategy, it will become a regulatory document to guide activities and policies for the region.
“The CVRD is faced with numerous waste management challenges, including the lack of a waste disposal facility, non-uniform curbside pick-up service, the burning of garbage, illegal dumping, increasing contamination of curbside recycling, and increasing costs of managing our waste,” said Tauseef Waraich, manager of Recycling & Waste Management for the CVRD. “We also know that nearly half of the material we send to landfill in Washington state is recyclable or compostable. We think we can do better and we’re excited to share this final plan with the community and begin work to meet our ambitious goal of becoming a zero waste community.”
One of the key issues that the SWMP will address is reducing the amount of food waste and organic material shipped to landfill. The plan proposes an eventual ban on organic material in the landfill and several supporting measures to facilitate this shift, such as new programs to service the commercial sector and multi-family buildings, and expansion of curbside collection programs in electoral areas.
At this time, more than 33,000 residents of the CVRD do not have mandatory organics collection and 20,000+ are without mandatory garbage collection at the curb.
Adoption of consistent curbside collection standards and services across the region, for all single-family residential households, is an important step to ensuring that all residents have convenient access to alternative disposal options. A business case analyzing curbside collection models for electoral areas will be prepared in the coming months and CVRD board and staff will engage electoral area residents in further consultation around this strategy to ensure community concerns are identified and considered.
The Solid Waste Management Plan, its accompanying Public Consultation Summary, and all background materials related to the SWMP amendment process are available online at https://www.cvrd.bc.ca/2979/Solid-Waste-Management-Plan.