Hours may be reduced at the region's only landfill to save money and cut greenhouse gases.
The Capital Regional District is proposing to close the Hartland Avenue landfill to residential use on two more days a week, but extending the hours on the four days that it is open. There would be no changes for commercial haulers.
That could result in the region saving $160,000 a year, Larisa Hutcheson, the CRD's environmental sustainability general manager, said.
On the days that Hartland is closed, residents could use depots closer to home to drop off refuse recylables, reducing greenhouse gases, Hutcheson said. Those depots then hire a commercial hauler to take the items to the landfill.
Currently, residential drop-off at the Hartland landfill is available Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The suggested change would see no access on Monday or Tuesday. Instead, Hartland would be open from Wednesday to Saturday, from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
CRD staff will meet the public about the changes before recommendations go to the board for a decision, likely in the spring.
Tipping fees, the amount people pay to leave their refuse at the landfill, are also set to increase. If the board approves, the rates will increase Jan. 2 to $107 per tonne from the current $100.
The fees pay for Hartland's operation as well as for the successful blue-box recycling program.
Hours for commercial haulers would not change under the proposals. Currently, 90 per cent of refuse received by Hartland is delivered by commercial haulers. They use a different system from the one used by residents, going to an automated weigh scale and then to the "active face," where garbage is filled, generally by large commercial vehicles.
Changing their hours was not necessary because they require less service, Hutcheson said. Also, changes to hours for commercial users could have a ripple effect, resulting in changes to municipal garbage collection days.
Garbage collection is already complex in the region. Although the CRD takes the region's refuse, it is up to the municipalities to collect it. How it is done varies. Indeed, the system is in flux as other potential changes to allowances and collections loom.
How we handle our trash
