Council voted Monday night to negotiate with the City of Victoria to use its transfer station for kitchen scraps and garbage. Council also voted to change garbage pickup from the backyard to the curb.
The Capital Regional District is banning kitchen scraps from the Hartland landfill by 2015, with a goal of extending its lifespan. If kitchen waste is not diverted, the landfill is expected to be full by 2035. The change could push that back by an estimated 12 years.
Victoria launched its kitchen-scrap collection program this month, delivering 14,000 sets of bins to homeowners. Other Island communities such as Nanaimo, View Royal and Oak Bay already collect kitchen scraps. Saanich’s program begins in earnest in 2014.
Esquimalt expects it will reduce its garbage collection costs by participating in the regional program, said Jeff Miller, director of engineering and public works, on Wednesday.
Until 2015, the CRD is offering a $20/tonne rebate on tipping fees to municipalities and private waste collection companies for the separation of garbage and kitchen scraps.
The cost is now $107/tonne, Miller said. “So if we have a program where you separate the two waste streams, you’re paying $87 per tonne.”
The township could also save money by coming to an agreement with Victoria to use their transfer yard.
“That would save us in costs because we won’t have to drive out to Hartland all the time to dump our loads,” Miller said.
Moving to curbside collection should also save money by reducing vehicle idling time and fuel use, he said.
Using the CRD’s current estimate of organic waste in the landfill, Esquimalt would be diverting approximately 150 tonnes of waste material a year from the landfill.
Esquimalt residents will have an opportunity to discuss changes to garbage collection at an open house this year, the township said in a statement. One issue will be whether to provide exemptions to curbside pickup for people with physical disabilities.
Updates on garbage and kitchen scraps collection will be published in the community newsletter and posted at esquimalt.ca.
