For the second straight year, dumping fees at the Campbell River landfill are going up.
Effective Jan. 1, 2014 tipping fees at the dump will increase by $10 per metric tonne in order to help pay for capital improvements taken on by the Comox Strathcona Waste Management Service as well as long-term care costs of all the waste centres within the region.
Tom Boatman, the manager of solid waste services, said the fees were approved by the solid waste board in June.
“The board approved an increase for municipal solid waste from $90 per metric tonne to $100 per metric tonne and construction and demolition waste from $100 per metric tonne to $110 per metric tonne,” Boatman said. “Area residents dropping off loads weighing not more than 60 kilograms will still be charged the $4 minimum.”
The rate hike builds on top of a similar tipping fee increase this year from $80 per metric tonne in 2012 to $90 per metric tonne in 2013. Construction and demolition waste fees rose from $90 per metric tonne to $100 per metric tonne this year.
That increase was to offset operational costs at not only the Campbell River and Cumberland waste management centres, but also the Tahsis and Zeballos landfills, the Gold River transfer station and landfill as well as the Cortes and Hornby Island transfer stations.
The increase will go towards capital projects such as gas collection, leachate collection, storm water facilities and for closure plans for existing dumps, including Campbell River’s.
A transfer station is currently handling waste at the landfill, which is nearly full. The closure process is expected to take at least five years.
The landfill could, however, be expanded down the road to the northeast which would allow for 40-50 more years of use.
Todd Baker, an engineer with consulting group AECOM which worked on the region’s solid waste plan, told city council last year that if the facility were to expand it would require upgrades to be in compliance with Ministry of Environment’s criteria.
Improvements would have to include an engineered system for leachate treatment, landfill gas management and a membrane that would cover the landfill to ensure no air or water escapes from the site. The tipping fee increase is also being targeted as “diversion incentives to help preserve landfill capacity for the future and are consistent with the solid waste management plan.”
For more information, go to www.cswm.ca/fees