The Pender Harbour landfill is now closed and a transfer station is operating in its stead.
The landfill was officially closed in December, though the costs for that closure are still coming in.
“The exact value is still being determined because we’re still going through the final invoices,” said Robyn Cooper, manager of waste reduction and recycling with Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD).
The operator of the former landfill, Indian Isle Construction Ltd., won the contract to operate the new transfer station for the next four years at a total cost of $859,335, excluding taxes.
That cost is a bit higher than what was needed to run the landfill, due to the fact that garbage will now have to be trucked to Sechelt, Cooper said.
However, she noted the price tag is less than what would have been required to expand the landfill, which was the only other option as the dump was nearing capacity.
It was the Ministry of Environment that ultimately decided the landfill’s fate, Cooper said.
“The Pender Harbour landfill was reaching capacity, so a decision needed to be made around do you look at expanding it or does it need to be closed. The Ministry of Environment decided that the site needed to be closed,” Cooper said.
The new transfer station doesn’t look much different to users who are still able to come and drop off refuse in bins on site. That garbage is then trucked to the Sechelt landfill; currently trucks are making the trip two or three times a week.
One positive change that resulted from the closure is that now roofing materials and mattresses are being recycled via the Sechelt landfill, rather than being buried in the Pender Harbour landfill.
“So that’s great,” Cooper said.
She noted the Sechelt landfill has between 15 and 17 years left of capacity for garbage on the site, taking into account the new trucked-in material from Pender Harbour, but she said that projection could change.
“That’s based on current diversion programs. So should diversion increase, should the amount of garbage that we produce that requires burial decrease, then that 15- to 17-year lifespan increases,” Cooper said.
“So the goal through waste reduction, through diversion and through meeting targets in the solid waste management plan, is to extend the life of that landfill as long as possible.”
