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CR LANDFILL CHANGES - FAQs
Campbell River Waste Management Centre Changes
FAQ's
November 2011
Q. Why are changes being made at the Campbell River waste management centre?
A. There are only a few years of life left at the Campbell River waste management centre, also known as the landfill, and the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) requires that landfills be closed when their permanent capacity is reached. So we're working to be ready for that time. The reconfiguration of the tipping area will allow for the temporary transfer of waste from the Campbell River site to the Comox Valley waste management centre.
Q. How long have you known this was an issue?
A. All landfills have a "lifespan" which varies based on amount of land available, type of landfill it is, amount of recycled materials diverted away from the landfill and so on. We have known for about a year that the Campbell River landfill was coming to the end of its current life, so we have been working with engineers to find a way to deal with the diminishing capacity and also to deal with some slope "instability" issues at the landfill. As the phased-in closure work begins, additional landfill space will be gained.
Q. What are slope instability issues, and what kind of problem do they pose ?
A At the Campbell River landfill, the lower slope of the landfill, mostly along Argonaut Road, is too steep on which to build a closure cover and gas collection system. The lower slopes could slide down toward the road unless they are changed or reinforced. The slope does not meet the MoE landfill criteria for final closure, because of the hazard posed by the steepness of the slope. In order to mitigate the safety hazard and to meet the MoE requirements, a wall is proposed to be built along Argonaut Road.
Q. So what's the plan?
A. As the permitted landfill capacity will be reached this fall or winter, currently the plan is to build a temporary transfer station at the Campbell River landfill site with material from that station going to the Comox Valley waste management centre. The transfer station is scheduled to be completed by spring 2012.
Q. What will that mean to people who currently take their garbage to the Campbell River landfill?
A. It will have no impact on any residential, commercial or industrial collection contracts even if they are using the temporary transfer station as the disposal site, as it will be at the present Campbell River solid waste management/landfill site.
Q. What about those individuals who bring their recyclables to that site?
A. Residential customers will see no change in the services when they arrive at the landfill. The various collection bins for all their recyclables will not change, and they'll be directed to the proper place, to drop off their other garbage.
Q. So how does the closing of the landfill actually happen?
A. Design of the closure, done by a qualified engineering firm will begin in the summer. The design may include a mechanically stabilized earthen wall, which could solve the current steep slope problem mainly along Argonaut Road, and add five to six years of capacity to the landfill. Construction related to that design work is known as "phase one" construction. It would require permit modification by MOE. Once that all happens, we would end the transfer of waste to the Comox Valley waste management centre.
Q. What exactly does "phase one" construction mean?
A. Phase one closure construction is expected to include: a stormwater drainage (leachate/stormwater separation) system around the landfill, a mechanical stabilized earthen retaining wall for the overly steep waste slopes along Argonaut Road, and a vertical landfill modification that could increase landfill capacity an estimated five or six years). That closure construction will commence next year and is targeted for completion in 2013.
Q. What's the long term answer to garbage that has been going to the Campbell River landfill, then? To be permanently taken to the Comox Valley?
A. The Comox Strathcona Waste Management (CSWM) board will decide what the long term answer is. The path to that answer is in the solid waste management plan, which contains three options for a regional landfill plus a waste-to-energy option. The board will be considering the solid waste management plan at future meetings.
Q. What does that mean for the Comox Valley waste management centre? Can it handle the new influx of garbage, and how long does it have to "live"?
A. The traffic increase as a result of the transfer will be limited to an average of between two and four more trucks per day going to the Comox Valley landfill, during the time the Campbell River transfer station is in use. The Comox Valley's landfill has approximately three to five years of life left, and the long term answer for it lies also in the solid waste management plan. The regional solid waste board comprises all the directors from the Comox Valley and the Strathcona Regional Districts, so the decisions about solid waste cover both regions.
Q. Landfills can be good sources of employment. How many people work at the Campbell River landfill and will they be laid off or let go once the transfer station gets underway?
A. There are 10 people who work at the Campbell River waste management centre, and they are mostly employed under a contract that CSWM has with the current vendor, Berry and Vale Inc. Those working at the landfill would continue to work there, and operate the new transfer station after the transfer station construction is completed. The contract with Berry and Vale Inc. runs until 2014.
Q. What kinds of costs are needed to do this?
A. The costs are not small. Currently, the budgeted amount to build the temporary transfer station is $350,000 and the most recent cost estimate to close the landfill is between $8.3 million and $10.3 million . Costs of future possibilities for dealing with garbage in the region will be determined as part of the board's consideration of the solid waste management plan. The cost of the transfer station including engineering work will be approximately $1,300,000.