Canadian Region Considers Landfill Ban

The board of the Capital Regional District (CRD), Victoria, British Columbia, Canada has sent out a letter asking for feedback on a landfill ban for scrap wood and a wide number of materials covered by existing product stewardship laws. The proposed ban would take effect in 2010 at the CRD’s Harland landfill.

“The proposed wood waste ban would include all clean and treated wood from construction and demolition activities,” says a letter from CRD Acting Senior Manager of Solid Waste John Craveiro. “The ban on product stewardship materials would affect all materials covered under the British Columbia Recycling Regulation, including: beverage containers, paint, solvents and flammable liquids, used gasoline, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, tires, lead acid batteries, used lubricating oil, filters and containers, and electronic products such as computers and televisions.”

According to a news release from the Coast Waste Management Association (CWMA), a trade group based in British Columbia, “The practice of banning the disposal of specific wastes at Hartland landfill, when viable recycling alternatives are in place, has been used by the CRD since 1991. Current landfill bans include: drywall (1991), cardboard, directories, large appliances, tires (1993), fill materials (1995), paper (1998) and yard and garden waste (2006). It is estimated that these bans have diverted over 600,000 metric tons of material from the landfill.”

Coming out in support of the ban, the CWMA release states, “Wood waste and product stewardship materials are not garbage. They are resources that can be reused or recycled to create other materials. Banning these materials would conserve landfill space and contribute to reaching the CRD’s waste diversion goal of 60% by 2013.”

Regarding end markets for wood, the CWMA states, “The end use for wood waste is primarily as boiler fuel or other energy recovery options. Other recycling options include composting, animal bedding or landscaping.”

In his letter, addressed to “stakeholders,” the CRD’s Craveiro says he is seeking comments from those in the region, writing, “You are invited to submit written comments or attend one of three open houses. More information, including an electronic comment form, is available on the CRD Web site at www.crd.bc.ca or by contacting the CRD Hotline at hotline@crd.bc.ca or (250) 360-3030.