A new Capital Regional District report has found that nearly half of the material received at Hartland Landfill could have been recycled.
Construction and demolition waste is the fastest-growing waste product observed, increasing 6.6 per cent since 2016, now accounting for 13.3 per cent of Greater Victoria’s waste. The CRD says factors like the Highwest Landfill closing in 2021 and a hot real estate are to blame.
The largest amount of waste? Wood.
“Right now we don’t have good wood diversion programs set up in the region,” said Liz Ferris, environmental resource manager for the CRD.
Next month, Ferris is hoping to change that. She and other CRD staff will be pitching to set up a number of new recycling programs to address things the high quantities of wood, plastics, and construction and demolition materials, which are continuing to pour into the landfill.
“What we’re really trying to do is extend the life of the Hartland Landfill,” said Ferris. “It was slated to be full in about 2046.”
The CRD is targeting to reduce waste by 1/3 by 2031, to extend Hartland’s life for another half a century until 2100.
Since organic waste was banned from coming to Hartland Landfill in 2015, the amount of organic waste hitting the dump is down.
“Since 2010, in the per capita kilograms of organic waste received at the landfill, we saw a 47 per cent reduction in organic material,” said Ferris.
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Kori Sidaway
