Apr 23, 2014

Coquitlam politicians are calling for a revised business plan for Metro Vancouver’s ambition to build one or more incinerators to burn the region’s trash, saying much has changed since the notion was first presented a decade ago. For the $450-million plan to make sense, there must be enough trash to burn. But the state of the region’s recycling has changed drastically over the years. Metro has plans to divert 80 per cent of its trash from landfills by 2020 — up from 58 per cent today. Proposals include region-wide composting, more landfill bans on items that can be recycled and mandatory recycling in all multi-family and commercial buildings. Meanwhile, the province is dithering over Bylaw 280. The Metro-proposed law would ensure commercial garbage generated in the region is processed at regional facilities and not taken to other areas to avoid higher tipping fees and waste bans. Coquitlam said it has asked repeatedly for the revised plan since 2011. It worries the region’s costly new waste plan could be in jeopardy if bylaw 280 fails — especially if it is found to underpin the project’s business plan. Metro released a draft plan to the waste committee last week but is keeping it under wraps. “We want to take a look at the project before we start spending money,” Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart said. “Bylaw 280 is designed to stop leakage. There’s no question one of the variables (of the plan) is that we have enough solid waste.” Metro has said that if the amount of trash continues to drop in the region, it would scale back or close the existing Burnaby incinerator. Opposing the bylaw is a force of high-profile lobbyists along with waste management companies. Waste Management B.C. recently commissioned a short economic paper by Jack Carr, a professor emeritus of economics at the University of Toronto that affirms the negative effects of Bylaw 280 on residents and businesses. Car is in Vancouver later this week to speak with business groups. He says the province should reject the bylaw, saying if it is approved, it would allow Metro Vancouver to establish a monopoly, expose residents and businesses to continually increasing taxes and tipping fees — up to $151 per tonne by 2017 — and eliminate private-sector competition. But Metro Vancouver chairman Greg Moore maintains the bylaw is needed to manage and maintain the bans in place, as well as to control the waste flow. If haulers can take trash to the Fraser Valley, he said, it would create a disadvantage in the market. Coquitlam’s call for a business case examination comes as Metro prepares to bring forward another six sites for its proposed waste-to-energy facilities later this spring. The facilities, slated to open in 2018, are expected to handle 300,000 tonnes of garbage each year and produce heat and electricity to neighboring homes and businesses.

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