The Regional District of Mount Waddington (RDMW) has prepared an Interim Solid Waste Management Plan
WHAT'S IN THE INTERIM PLAN?
The Interim Solid Waste Management Plan is intended to help guide how we reduce, reuse, recycle, compost and dispose of our garbage on the North Island. Although reduction, reuse and recycling are among the most desirable approaches to managing waste, the key focus for the interim plan is the long-term use of the 7 Mile Landfill and Recycling Centre (7MLRC)
7 MLRC is the cornerstone of the RDMW's waste management system-providing:
- A regional landfill
- A consolidation point for take-back programs (for electronics, paint, appliances, etc.),
- A recycling processing facility and
- A composting facility for wood waste, yard waste and biosolids
In other words, it plays a critical role in the region's solid waste diversion system as well as being a disposal facility.
Additional land located adjacent to the landfill needs to be acquired from the Province, requiring meaningful consultation with the Kwakiutl First Nation on whose traditional territory the landfill is located, in order for all the above activities to continue. Should this land be acquired, the RDMW will be able to prepare a long-term plan for solid waste management in the region which will look at how we can expand recycling and composting activities.
Through implementing this plan, the RDMW expects to answer three future-defining questions.
1. What is the long-term future of 7 Mile Landfill and Recycling Centre?
2. What will curbside waste collection services look like in the future?
3. How should the RDMW's solid waste services be funded?
Our current system for managing solid waste is working well, so all facilities and programs will be maintained. However, some new programs are proposed, as are some improvements to existing services.
The following summarizes the key actions in the interim plan.
REDUCE AND REUSE
- Support more at-home management of organic waste
- Implement campaign to encourace a waste minimization mindset, e.g. food waste avoidane, use refillabel water bottles, etc.
- Promote existing "reuse" services, e.g. rental companies, second hand stores, repair shops
- Support reuse events
- Develope a fund to seed local circular economy projects
RECYCLE AND COMPOST
- Develop a food waste diversion strategy in association with municipalities and First Nations
- Increase education and outreach on available recycling services
- Encourage more recycling of materials like metal and wood by making them a "controlled waste" at RDMW Solid Waste facilities
- Expanding the types of homes that receive curbside collection services
DISPOSAL
- Undertake a landfill conformance review to identify if there are any substantial issues associated with the current landfill that may impact the long-term use of the site
- Obtain approval to acquire the land adjacent to the current landfill that was formerly used by the Province for aggregate extraction
- Update the site 7 Mile landfill development and operation plan
- Work with industrial waste generators to identify recycling and reuse solutions for the largest components of their waste (instead of landfilling)
FUTURE STRATEGIES
- Develop a Food Waste Diversion Strategy in consultation with municipalities and First Nations
- Collaborate with the municipalities and waste collection service providers to prepare a Collection
- Strategy that looks at the collection of garbage, recycling and food scraps
- Collaborate with the municipalities to prepare a Cost Recovery and Fairness Strategy
The Plan is to be implemented from 2020-2023. The cost to implement the plan are expected to increase the annual solid waste budget by 3-5%.
To read or download the interim plan, click here.
THE PROCESS TO UPDATE THE REGION'S 1996 SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PLAN:
The process to update the plan was done in 3 phases that started in the fall of 2019 and was completed in the fall of 2020. The first phase consisted of the establishment of the Solid Waste Management Plan Advisory Committee, an assessment of the current solid waste management system, a status report on the implementation of the 1996 Plan, and the design of a consultation program to accompany the planning process. The second phase entailed a review of the options to address the region's future solid waste management needs and the selection of preferred options. The third phase was a community and stakeholder consultation process to obtain input on the selected options. Based on the input received, the plan was finalized.
Links to all technical reports, advisory committee meeting minutes and the results of the consultation activities are provided here:
Technical Memos
RSWMP Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes
Send us an email to RSWMP@rdmw.bc.ca
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Write to us at: RSWMP Input, Regional District of Mount Waddington, PO Box 729, 2044 McNeill Road, Port McNeill, BC, V0N 2R0
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For the results of the Solid Waste Questionnaire for Residents, please click HERE
- For the results of the Solid Waste Questionnaire for Management in the Workplace, please click HERE
