WHY UPDATE OUR SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PLAN?

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1 WHY UPDATE OUR SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PLAN? Provincial regulatory requirement Provides direction for solid waste management for the next 10 years Determines how we will reduce, reuse, recycle and manage our waste 1

2 WHAT DOES THE PLAN MEAN FOR YOU? More emphasis on waste reduction - reducing waste that needs to be managed and saving resources Improved services - doing better with what we already have No major changes - current system to be improved with no new major expenditures 2

3 OUR VISION FOR THE NEW PLAN The goal is zero waste all of our discards are regarded a resources Citizens are actively engaged in behaviours that reflect the waste management hierarchy (i.e. reduce before reuse before recycle ) Make it easy for residents and businesses to make the right decisions 3

4 CURRENT PROGRAMS AND Education and promotion programs Waste reduction initiatives (Repair Cafés, Trunk Sale events) Information services INITIATIVES (MyWaste App, Website, Guides) Subsidized backyard composters 4

5 CURRENT PROGRAMS AND INITIATIVES Residential curbside collection programs for 55,000 homes for garbage, recyclables and yard waste (seasonal) 1 Material drop off at Glenmore Landfill and three regional recycling depots 1 Multi-family buildings and businesses arrange their own collection 5

6 CURRENT PROGRAMS AND INITIATIVES Regulated Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Programs designed to shift the cost of managing waste products and packaging from local governments to producers and consumers Examples of materials include: Used oil, antifreeze, oil filters, oil containers and antifreeze containers Batteries (including lead batteries) Beverage containers Electronic and electrical products (such as cell phones, appliances) Lamps and lighting equipment Paint, flammable liquids, solvents, pesticides, gasoline Smoke alarms Thermostats Tires Pharmaceutical waste Packaging and printed paper 6

7 HOW MUCH DO WE THROW AWAY AND RECYCLE EACH YEAR? 120,000 tonnes garbage BREAK-DOWN OF SOURCES FOR GARBAGE DISPOSED TO LANDFILL 90,000 tonnes recycled Note: some data missing, e.g. recycling done by businesses Self-haul 9% Curbside 22% ICI 42% Demolition & Construction 27% 7

8 WHAT IS IN OUR GARBAGE? CURBSIDE COLLECTION OF GARBAGE FROM RESIDENTS Textiles 5% Glass 1% Other 16% Beverage Containers 1% Metal 3% GARBAGE SELF-HAULED BY RESIDENTS TO TRANSFER STATIONS Organics 6% Textiles 5% Soil 5% Other 20% Organics 41% Plastics 13% Building Materials 37% Bulky Items 10% Building Materials 3% Paper 7% Hygiene 10% Paper 5% Plastics 8% Metal 4% 8

9 WHAT S IN THE GARBAGE FROM BUSINESSES GARBAGE FROM BUSINESSES Textiles 3% Organics 30% Other 22% Bulky Items 5% Metal 4% Building Materials 13% Paper 9% Hygiene 3% Plastics 11% 9

10 PROPOSED INITATIVES OF THE PLAN Continue emphasizing waste reduction (i.e. not creating waste in the first place) Improving the use and knowledge of existing recycling services No big infrastructure upgrades are planned, e.g. no new landfills, waste-to-energy facility, transfer stations, etc. Improving communication and collaboration to increase waste diversion 10

11 PROPOSED INITIATIVES CURBSIDE COLLECTION Review current curbside collection contract to encourage more waste diversion. Changes may include: Mandatory use of clear garbage bags to check for recyclables User-pay-charges (you pay per cart tip) Reduced garbage collection frequency or size of garbage bins Reduce or increase size of yard waste collection bins Adding glass, Styrofoam and/or plastic bags as recyclables Offering bear-proof locks on carts for residents that report issues with wildlife 11

12 PROPOSED INITIATIVES ORGANICS MANAGEMENT A Life Cycle Assessment study commissioned in 2011 to determine the most sustainable way to manage organic waste within the region Results: Current management option is the highest scoring option when compared to other alternative treatment methods (including composting) Proposed Strategy: Continue to re-evaluate organic waste diversion opportunities while considering the need to maintain landfill gas collection and use at the landfill 12

13 PROPOSED INITIATIVES ENCOURAGE RECYCLING Review ways to encourage more recycling. These may include: 1. Mandatory recycling for multi-family and the ICI sectors through using private providers 2. Facilitate waste audits to educate businesses on what is in their waste stream 13

14 PROPOSED INITIATIVES ENCOURAGE RECYCLING Review ways to encourage more recycling These may include: 3. Require all contractors for construction and demolition projects to develop waste management plans to meet specified recycling target 4. Incorporate waste management provisions into land use bylaws and development guidelines (e.g. mandatory space allocation, accessibility for collection trucks) 14

15 PROPOSED INITIATIVES ENCOURAGE RECYCLING The Plan proposes a review of services offered at RDCO s recycling depots. The review will include: Existing hours of operation Materials accepted (e.g. glass) Number and location of recycling depots Separate reviews for Lake Country and Peachland 15

16 PROPOSED INITIATIVES RESOURCE RECOVERY AND ILLEGAL DUMPING Investigate opportunities to process and recycle construction and demolition materials and to recover energy from them in collaboration with the local partners Investigate the success in other regions to mitigate illegal dumping by providing curbside collection of bulky items 16

17 Diversion Rate % WHAT CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED BY THE PLAN? 60 After implementing the new strategies described in the Plan, we have the potential to increase the region s diversion rate from 43% to 50% Current Estimated after Plan in effect Some data on diversion is lacking (ICI and multi-family diversion). The RDCO may undertake its own estimates of these in the future to refine the overall diversion rate estimate and for tracking purposes 18

18 WHAT DO YOU THINK? Your input is important and will be used to help guide decisions about new programs and services and to finalize the Solid Waste and Resource Management Plan Please provide your feedback by filling out the Exit Survey More info can be found at Regionaldistrict.com/garbagefuture 19