The National Climate League (NCL) released its annual list of standings rating Canadian cities on environmental action and Burnaby was named best in handling landfill waste.
Originally focused on collecting data solely from hub cities, for the first time the NCL has expanded the number of municipalities featured in the standings.
According to the report, Burnaby is one of 21 member municipalities working with Metro Vancouver to minimize waste generation, maximize reuse, recycling and material recovery, recover energy from the waste stream after material recycling, and dispose of remaining waste in a landfill after material recycling and energy recovery.
In 2020, Burnaby developed a program to recycle wet and soiled mattresses, collecting over 4,200 additional mattresses in support the Metro Vancouver Integrated Solid Waste and Resource Management Plan objectives. With its focus on waste reduction and beneficial reuse above recycling and composting (followed by waste to energy facilities and disposal), Burnaby was called a leader amongst Canadian municipalities with an estimated waste disposal rate of 302 tonnes per household, said NCL.
“Diverting waste from the landfill takes a community-wide effort, and it’s great to see the efforts of our residents and city staff recognized,” said Erik Schmidt, director of public works with the City of Burnaby. “Our solid waste and recycling division is always looking for ways to improve the diversion rate in Burnaby. Every year, we publish an annual report which tracks our progress in a variety of fields related to recycling and solid waste, and outlines our plans to improve our programs.”
Some City of Burnaby plans for 2022 include:
Introducing new recycling and food scraps receptacles in major parks and picnic areas.
Providing each household with a “kitchen catcher” receptacle to encourage more households to divert food scraps.
Expanding number of accepted categories for recycling at the Eco-Centre (currently, the city accepts over 21 types of recyclable materials).
Continuing to explore the potential for creating a city-owned green waste processing facility.
Landfills release methane gas, a powerful greenhouse gas and primary contributor to the formation of ground-level ozone, said the NCL.
The NCL report also said Burnaby had two weaknesses in the areas of urban agriculture and gender equity.
The urban agriculture category results are produced by the number of farmers markets available per 100,000 residents.
Gender equity involves the gender pay gap between self-identifying women and men within employees working for a municipality/ government office.
The NOW also reached out to the City of Burnaby to ask how they are addressing urban agriculture and gender equity issues.
“While the City of Burnaby does not directly organize farmer’s markets, we do provide support for organisations looking to host a market in Burnaby,” said a city statement. “There is a special zoning bylaw category to permit farmer’s markets, and the city’s recent adoption of temporary use permits makes the creation of farmer’s markets easier administratively.”
“The city also provides support to the Artisan Farmers Market, the non-profit society which operates the primary farmer’s market in Burnaby, through a licence agreement which allows the society to host the farmer’s market in the City Hall parking lot without having to pay rental fees,” said Rebekah Mahaffey, a social planner with the city.
Gender Equity: “When it comes to gender and diversity, the City of Burnaby has a number of policies and processes in place to ensure inclusiveness. We understand the importance of gender equity and representation in our workforce, which is why our People and Culture Department is continually updating our procedures to ensure we are following industry best practices in all areas of our work,” said Anita Bhandari, Chief Human Resources Officer.
