Regional Solid Waste Management Plan Survey

Consultation is Key

Recommendations for how we manage our solid waste (garbage, recycling, organic waste) were developed over the past year with input from a broad range of stakeholders from the community, local businesses, the City and Tla’amin Nation. Now, we need you! Your input is critical to finalizing our Solid Waste Management and Resource Recovery Plan. Please complete this survey by October 15th and enter our draw prize to win a $50 gift certificate to a local restaurant or retailer of your choice! To be eligible for this draw, be sure to provide your contact details at the end of the survey. Thanks!

What is Being Proposed?

Clean up the contamination at the former incinerator site on Marine Avenue and establish a Resource Recovery Centre with a waste transfer station on the site to provide the community with an improved waste management facility and approximately 3 hectares (7.5 acres) of clean remediated land that can be used as a community amenity.
Increase participation in the City and Regional District recycling programs by making operations easier for residents.
Increase recycling by area businesses through encouragement, education and restricting recyclable materials like cardboard and paper from the garbage.
Compost more of our yard waste and food waste by having a local drop-off site and curb-side collection from homes in the City. To encourage businesses to get involved, restrict the disposal of yard waste and food waste in the garbage. (In a 2015 Regional District survey, 95% of respondents indicated that they support diverting organics out of our garbage to a composting facility.)
Increase the reuse and recycling of waste from construction and demolition projects by offering more recycling and reuse opportunities at the Resource Recovery Centre.
Progress on the closure of the old Airport landfill and the Squatters Creek dump site.
Develop an Invasive Species Disposal Plan to stop the spread by providing better disposal options.
Develop a Regional Illegal Dumping Strategy using a collaborative, multi-stakeholder approach.
Develop a Regional Disaster Debris Management Plan so we are better prepared if there is a major disaster (e.g. flood, earthquake).

These proposed actions could reduce the amount of waste we landfill by one-third!

For more details on these options, please visit our Solid Waste Management Plan - Work in Progress webpage at http://www.powellriverrd.bc.ca/swmp.

What will it Cost?

To pay for the services and infrastructure outlined in the draft Plan, the Powell River Regional District’s annual solid waste management expenditures are expected to increase from $2.3 million in 2017 to $3.2 million in 2026. This increase will largely be funded from tipping fees, however, an increase in the revenue from taxes is also anticipated. For Electoral Area property owners, Regional District residential taxes for solid waste management are expected to increase each year by an average of $1 per year per $100,000 of assessed value over the 10-year time frame of this Plan. Residential property owners within the City boundary can expect a similar tax increase for this service. Tipping fees for garbage are expected to increase 2% annually from $220/tonne to $260/tonne over the same time frame.