People throwing out more garbage, more people living on the Sunshine Coast and more renovations and construction are putting pressure on the landfill’s annual capacity, say Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) staff.
Directors confronted what may become a perennial problem if waste keeps piling up at a July 16 committee meeting.
“Despite all the current efforts” to reduce waste, said a staff report presented at the meeting. “The total amount of waste being buried annually has continued to increase.Staff are concerned that without any additional measures taken, the annual maximum tonnage of landfilled material will be reached at some point in the upcoming years.”
It may happen as soon as 2021, said the report, and if it does it would “force an immediate closure of the landfill until January 1 of the following year.”
SCRD directors requested a report on moving ahead with the “ad-hoc” diversion of materials once the landfill capacity hits a specific threshold, such as 90 per cent.
Since it will cost money to haul the material to another landfill, staff recommended adding a “landfill capacity surcharge” on all tipping fees.
Other options presented were permanently diverting materials, amending the site’s operating certificate and temporarily refusing certain materials.
Meanwhile, staff are also looking at future sites for a landfill and expect to report to directors with options by the end of the year.
Share sheds
The future of the share sheds was also explored by directors, as staff look at redesign options for the drop-off area of the landfill to deal with a series of sink holes and depressions that have appeared in the last few months.
Directors recommended a design that would allow all the usual materials to be dropped off except for cardboard, since it’s recyclable, among other reasons. If the recommendation is approved at board, then cardboard won’t be accepted as of Oct. 1.
They also made a difficult share shed decision.
Both the Sechelt and Pender Harbour Transfer Station share sheds have been closed since February due to COVID-19 and staff say there have been no complaints.
Ground depressions have also appeared at the Sechelt share shed, and it could
Cost between $100,000 and $150,000 to remediate it, said staff.
Since fewer people have been taking items in recent years, staff recommended closing it “indefinitely.”
Staff also said the location of the share shed in Pender Harbour is causing “operational issues,” and because no complaints about its closure have been received, it could also be closed.
Area A director Leonard Lee asked staff to hold off on the Pender shed for now.
“We don’t have the equivalent of Habitat for Humanity here in Pender Harbour and our Bargain Barn isn’t big enough to handle the big items and that share shed is used fairly heavily,” he said.
Directors voted to discontinue the share shed at the Sechelt landfill and discuss options for the share shed in Pender Harbour at a later date.
Mattress fees
Mattress tipping fees could be going up. The contract to transport mattresses to an off-coast recycling facility is up for renewal, but the cost of the new contract would run over budget, forcing staff to come up with options to make up the difference.
Last year, about 3,590 mattresses were dropped off at the Sechelt landfill and Pender Harbour transfer station.
Roberts Creek director Andreas Tize suggested moving ahead with the contract and doubling the tipping fees for mattresses. Dry mattresses would cost $25 from $10 and wet mattress drop-off would cost $30 instead of $15. Tipping fees were also increased in 2018.
Lee suggested limiting the increases to $5 “given this particular time we’re in” and revisit the fee once COVID-19 has passed.
Sechelt director Toth also said the cost would be “a little high” if doubled, and it could lead to more illegal dumping.
Directors decided to move ahead with the increase, with Lee and Toth voting against.
Scotch broom
Staff also announced at the meeting that starting July 1, scotch broom is now being accepted for disposal at the Sechelt Landfill. It must be secured in a clear bag, cannot contain flowers or seed pods and the tipping fee is $150 per tonne. It will be placed in garbage bins.
