BC Ferries says it’s willing to find ways to improve onboard options for composting and recycling, but it’s dealing with a patchwork of local government rules and service levels.
Arrangements for garbage, recycling and other waste varies from ship to ship depending on its home port.
The need to improve how BC Ferries deals with recycling, organics and garbage was one of the issues up for discussion at the Nov. 5 meeting of the Southern Sunshine Coast Ferry Advisory Committee (FAC).
FAC member Grace Carter, who raised the issue of onboard recycling and composting at the committee’s spring meeting, said she’d like to see Ferries put a little more pressure on the waste management services they use to “figure it out.”
“The garbage from the ferries goes into dumpsters in Langdale and then it goes to our landfill, which has a very short life expectancy – it’s on critical life support as we speak,” added Gibsons Coun. David Croal.
“The fact that there is not currently an option to throw away green waste on our ferry, and knowing that the waste comes off the ferry and goes to our very beleaguered landfill – it’s just not OK,” Carter said.
Darin Guenette of BC Ferries said it took several years to arrange the logistics to get recycling and composting in place on the routes serving Vancouver Island, and Doug Hanning, regional manager of terminal operations, said Ferries realizes the demand isn’t going away and they’ll keep working on it.
