In the near future, South Cariboo residents will see some changes at local landfills and transfer stations, including access hours and how their refuse is handled.
Cariboo Regional District directors recently endorsed the final draft of the updated Solid Waste Management Plan (SWMP), and it has now been sent to the province for approval before adoption.
CRD chair Al Richmond says the two-year pilot project at Lac la Hache transfer station is well underway, and if is deemed a success by the board, changes will begin at other sites.
“We'll know this year whether we're going to continue with that project.”
The Lac la Hache site currently has controlled access hours (and closed Wednesdays and Thursdays), trash compaction, a large-item share shed and segregated bins for cardboard and for wood waste.
The solid waste projects are partly intended to reduce the CRD's trucking costs to take waste from transfer stations to the disposal areas, he explains.
“We've seen a significant savings in Lac la Hache. We can haul a greater amount of material [in each truckload], because we're compacting that before we haul it.”
If the project is successful, there is $250,000 in the CRD's 2013 provisional budget to see similar pilot projects and trash compaction equipment installed at the Forest Grove and Lone Butte transfer stations ($125,000 each).
Another $40,000 is in this year's budget to split between the Interlakes and Watch Lake landfills for the installation of fences, gates and other capital equipment.
Those changes will control user access, with restricted hours of operation and, likely, require proof of residency.
The 2013 budget also includes funding of $90,000 for road improvements to the gravel surface leading the 100 Mile House Landfill.
However, the South Cariboo solid waste management taxation rate indicated in the 2013 budget is up slightly from last year's rate.
Affected taxpayers in the South Cariboo will pay $56.80 per $100,000 of each property's assessed value, compared to $55.68 in 2012.
If all goes according to plan, further changes will follow with full implementation planned over three phases from 2012-2021, but most key changes will be completed by 2017 – the end of Phase 2.
Foremost in the SWMP strategies and goals is access to recycling services that will be provided at all existing CRD facilities for the first time with the addition of recycling bins.
Expansion of the successful backyard composting program will also be top priority, followed by evaluation of centralized composting of yard, garden and vegetable waste deposited at municipal Eco-Depots (in Phase 2).
Illegal dumping will also be discouraged through future bylaws to be enforced by a new bylaw enforcement officer dedicated to solid waste matters.
For more information, to download the SWMP document or to complete a survey for Lac la Hache transfer station users, visit www.cariboord.bc.ca.