The Capital Regional District is aiming to ban certain recyclable construction materials at the Hartland Landfill in an effort to prolong the usability of the dump for the next century.
The proposal would see the South Island banning clean, treated, and salvageable wood, as well as asphalt roofing, shingles, and carpet from the landfill.
The chair of the CRD, Colin Plant, says that the current outlook to keep the landfill operational over time isn’t looking great.
“We are not going in the right direction and one of the reasons we are not going in the right direction towards lowering how much waste goes into the landfill is because of all the construction waste,” said Plant.
Under the proposal, banned construction materials brought to the landfill would be subject to a relocation fee. The CRD also proposes increasing tipping fees for other construction materials, with the highest jump of nearly 300 per cent for unsorted material.
However, some in the construction industry argue that the proposal will have unintended consequences.
Casey Edge from the Victoria Residential Builders Association believes there is a disconnect between government officials and the construction industry.
“They [government] don’t understand it and they bring in regulations that have unintended consequences and impact housing, which is one of the reasons we have the highest [housing] prices in Canada,” said Edge.
The proposal has been approved by a CRD committee and is awaiting approval from a scheduled board meeting on May 10.
READ MORE: Almost half of the material received at Hartland landfill shouldn’t be there
Tchadas Leo
