Throwing stuff out is about to get a bit more expensive in Greater Victoria.
On Wednesday, December 13th, the Capital Regional District (CRD) announced that some changes are being made at Hartland Landfill that may make bringing in garbage a bit more expensive.
The CRD Board approved several bylaw amendments which will come into effect next year in two phases.
Specifically, the changes that are to come include newly imposed material bans, increased ‘tipping fees’ and increased fines for certain offences.
Below is a list of the changes coming in 2024:
- New Material Bans
- Clean wood, such as wooden pallets and lumber cut-offs, will be banned from being accepted as “general refuse.”
- Tipping Fee Changes
- The general refuse tipping fee will increase from $110 to $150 per ton.
- Segregated clean wood will be accepted at a tipping fee of $80 per ton and will then be taken off site for recycling or energy recovery.
- The new Waste Stream Collector Incentive Program will offer a $25 per ton rebate on general refuse to those who self-report waste collection data and promote multi-stream collection.
- The International High-Risk Cruise Ship Waste tipping fee will increase to $500 per ton.
- Fines
- Rates for various offences will increase—some up to $500. However, bylaw officers will focus primarily on education, with a plan to issue warning tickets ahead of enforcement.
The above changes will come into effect on January 2nd, 2023.
Related:
“We have not seen significant changes in tipping fees and material bans since 2015,” said CRD Board Chair Colin Plant.
“The upcoming changes reflect the current reuse, recycling and energy recovery markets and further signal that banned materials should not end up in the garbage.”
The CRD says that additional material bans will come into effect in the summer of 2024.
These include materials such as treated wood, salvageable wood, carpet and underlay as well as asphalt shingles will be banned from being accepted as general refuse. They will still be but will be accepted as segregated materials at a reduced tipping fee.
“The 2024 Hartland Landfill policy changes have the potential to divert 40,500 tons of waste per year, aligning with 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,” said Environmental Services Committee Chair Barb Desjardins.
