April 28, 2010
COLDSTREAM, BC – At its April 21, 2010 meeting, the Regional District of North Okanagan (RDNO) Board of Directors adopted a new Municipal Solid Waste Management Bylaw. This Bylaw (No. 2434, 2010) is a consolidation of four current solid waste management bylaws and regulates the use of, and sets the fees for the recycling and disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW) at RDNO Recycling and Disposal Facilities (RDFs). The new bylaw takes effect July 5th, 2010.
The most significant change that most residents will notice is an increase in the refuse disposal fee from $63/tonne to $75/tonne. The minimum charge for refuse disposal will continue to be $3.00. Part of the increase in the refuse tipping fee is a result of the RDNO Board of Directors decision to enact a closure reserve surcharge. Five dollars per tonne of MSW disposed at all RDNO RDFs will be set aside in a closure reserve fund.
“The costs to close a landfill are significant,” states RDNO Board Chair Herman Halvorson. “Although there are many years of capacity remaining at the Greater Vernon, Armstrong/Spallumcheen and Lumby RDFs, the Board of Directors felt current users have an obligation to cover the cost of closing these facilities once they have reached their capacity. The closure reserve surcharge will ensure that closure costs are borne by the customers who actually used that landfill space.”
A number of other recycling and disposal fees will increase including the fee for construction and demolition (C&D) waste which will rise to $145/tonne. “C&D waste often contains large quantities of wood, metal and other materials that should be diverted,” explains Chair Halvorson. “The Directors believe that by providing a greater financial incentive for customers to separate recyclable material from the rest of their refuse, diversion rates will increase and the life of all of our landfill sites will be extended.”
Perhaps the most significant change in the new Bylaw is the establishment of a new category of waste known as “Regulated Material”. Regulated Material includes items such as asphalt roofing, yard and garden waste, glass, scrap metal and wood. Customers disposing of mixed loads of refuse containing Regulated Material will be assessed a tipping fee of $145/tonne.
“There are convenient drop off locations at all of our facilities for Regulated Material and the disposal fees for sorted and separated Regulated Material, such as wood and metal,
are significantly lower than for refuse”, reports Dale Danallanko, RDNO Recycling and Disposal Facilities Operations Manager. “Customers that take the time to sort, separate, deposit in the proper location and rescale will be rewarded with lower disposal fees. If RDF customers choose not to sort, separate, properly deposit and rescale, they will be assessed a higher disposal fee.”
Differential tipping fees are designed to encourage sorting and separation of divertible materials and to discourage the disposal of mixed loads. “We have received feedback from our customers indicating that the disposal fee differential was not enough to justify the time it takes to sort, separate and rescale. We believe that with the new recycling and disposal fees, the differential has reached a point that will result in higher levels of waste diversion” adds Danallanko.
The Bylaw includes new site rules as well, including a requirement that all truck and trailer loads be secured with a tarp or cargo net. A disposal fee of $145 per tonne will be charged for all loads, regardless of the contents, if the load is not adequately secured with a tarp or cargo net. “Flying debris from open vehicles on their way to an RDF can be extremely dangerous for other drivers. It is also hoped that the routes to RDFs will no longer be strewn with garbage that has fallen off vehicles with unsecured loads”, states Nicole Kohnert, RDNO Manager of Environmental and Engineering Services.
The new Municipal Solid Waste Management Bylaw No. 2434, 2010 - 785 Kb PDF contains the complete list of Regulated Materials, as well as the complete Recycling and Disposal Fee schedule.
Open house sessions are being planned this spring to answer questions about the new Bylaw and the new recycling and disposal fees. Details about these sessions will be available shortly. For more information, contact the RDNO at 250-550-3700.
For more information:
Dale Danallanko
Recycling and Disposal Facilities Operations Manager
250-550-3744
Karmen Morgan
Waste Reduction Coordinator
250-550-3743
