Victoria, BC – The Capital Regional District (CRD) Board has approved moving forward with policy changes that will see more waste diverted from Hartland Landfill beginning January 1, 2024.

“The proposed material stream diversion initiatives have the potential to divert up to 40,500 tonnes of waste per year,” said CRD Board Chair Colin Plant. “This is an incredible step forward to help achieve our 2023-2026 Board Priority of maximizing solid waste diversion as well as help achieve the Solid Waste Management Plan goals to reduce the region's waste by more than one-third and extend the life of Hartland Landfill to 2100 and beyond.”

Highlights of the policy changes to be made include:

• Banning wood (clean, treated and salvageable), carpet, and asphalt shingles from being landfilled as they have stable reuse, recycling and recovery markets. Residents and businesses would be able to bring these separated materials to Hartland Landfill where they would be transferred offsite and processed through contracts with the private sector. Residents will also be able to drop-off materials at private facilities. With this ban, each year, the CRD is expecting to divert 27,500 tonnes of wood, 9,000 tonnes of asphalt shingles and 4,000 tonnes of carpet and underlay.
• Increasing the general refuse tipping fee to $150/tonne and introducing reduced tipping fees for wood, carpet and asphalt shingles. This will support diversion efforts by the waste management industry as well as better align with general refuse tipping fees in other regional districts on Vancouver Island (Cowichan Valley Regional District - $192/tonne; Comox Valley Regional District - $145/tonne; and Regional District of Nanaimo - $145/tonne).
• Introducing waste hauler incentive rates to promote multi-stream collection, incent voluntary self-reported waste collection data sharing, and minimize the financial impact of increases to the general refuse tipping fees.
• Implementing a graduated bylaw ticket structure with higher fines for more serious infractions and/or repeated infractions.

Once the policies come into effect, staff will be monitoring the impact they have on solid waste tonnage and revenue over time and returning to the Environmental Services Committee on a quarterly basis for information and/or any recommended policy modifications, as needed, to align with the market conditions and ensure financial sustainability of the CRD’s solid waste system.

In September, staff will return to the Board with the amended Hartland Landfill Tipping Fee and Regulation Bylaw No. 3881 and Ticket Information Authorization Bylaw No. 1857 for final reading and approval.

The CRD delivers regional, sub-regional and local services to 13 municipalities and three electoral areas on southern Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. Governed by a 24-member Board of Directors, the CRD works collaboratively with First Nations and government partners to enable sustainable growth, foster community well-being, and develop cost-effective infrastructure while continuing to provide core services to residents throughout the region. Visit us online at www.crd.bc.ca.

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For media inquiries, please contact:
Andy Orr, Senior Manager
CRD Corporate Communications
Tel: 250.360.3229
Cell: 250.216.5492