Delta will allow non-recyclable industrial waste that's been dumped at a Burnaby landfill to be moved to the Vancouver landfill at Burns Bog.
Delta council approved a staff recommendation to transfer material from a dump located at the Norampac Paper Mill property in South Burnaby.
The Norampac landfill on Wiggins Street was a Ministry of Environment approved landfill that operated from the 1960s to 2007. It was primarily used for disposal of rejects from the recovery of recycled paper fibre from the mill. The waste included plastic packing tape, shrink wrap, packing labels, aluminum foil and other nonfibre packing, as well as small chips of cardboard and other paper.
The 26-hectare (65-acre) Burnaby site was recently sold to Oxford Properties, a large real estate and property development firm based in Ontario, which wants to redevelop it.
A report to council notes it has been determined the most cost-effective approach to addressing the old landfill, and to maximize future development potential, is to move the waste to another permitted landfill.
The report notes it is estimated approximately 200,000 tonnes of waste, which is not deemed hazardous, will require disposal. The Norampac waste doesn't smell and would generate lower strength leachate and less landfill gas, council was told.
"The relocation of waste from the site in Burnaby to Vancouver (landfill) has regional benefits of cleaning up an industrial property and moving waste to a facility with high levels of environmental controls and monitoring," the report states.
Additional truck traffic can be expected, although the truck drivers would be instructed to avoid using the George Massey Tunnel.
The operational certificate for the Vancouver landfill, which is owned and operated by the City of Vancouver, sets a limit of 750,000 tonnes per year. However, the additional quantity of waste would be managed so that limit is not exceeded.
Coun. Bruce McDonald, who chairs the Delta's environment committee, said the proposal was examined and it was determined there would be little impact on the community.
Coun. Jeannie Kanakos said she initially had concerns about Delta accepting additional industrial waste, but the material is within environmental safety limits.
She also said a precedent isn't being set.
The report to council notes Delta would receive at least $500,000 in royalties by accepting the Norampac waste, while overall revenue from landfill commercial waste would also increase.
The Ministry of Environment last year approved Metro Vancouver's Integrated Solid Waste and Resource Management Plan, which sets a minimum target of 65 per cent landfill waste diversion by 2015 for the single-family residential sector and an overall 70 per cent diversion target for all sectors combined.
Delta recently launched its Green Can program that includes the collection of food scraps. More than 2,000 kitchen containers have already been sold.
Once the majority of residents are participating in the Green Can program, according to Delta staff, it is projected that up to 4,000 tonnes of food waste could be diverted from the landfill each year.
special to the Burnaby NOW
