Free recycling of household appliances and textiles could be coming to Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) solid waste facilities next year.
Staff reports slated for review at the July 14 Committee of the Whole meeting state those services are possible through cooperation with the Major Appliance Recycling Roundtable (MARR) and Diabetes Canada. What is envisioned is drop off points for both the appliance and textile programs at the recently upgraded Sechelt landfill and the Pender Harbour waste transfer station.
Option to 'dumping' of old appliances
Under the SCRD’s current landfill bylaw, appliances are classed as scrap metal and white goods, which have a tipping fee of $150 per tonne and a per-unit price of $30 for appliances with Freon. The MARR program is paid for through fees applied to the sale and supply of new major household appliances. That money is used to compensate collection sites with a per-unit fee for all appliances collected and to manage environmentally hazardous substances, such as Freon.
The program covers fridges, stoves, freezers, washing machines, dryers, air conditioners, water coolers, dishwashers, range hoods and dehumidifiers. The costs associated with depositing unwanted appliances at the landfill have been link to “back road trash” issues, where citizens unable or unwilling to pay those costs abandon used items in remote areas.
Making textile recycling easier
The Return-It textiles program in B.C. was discontinued on June 30. That limited public options for recycling such materials on the Coast to local thrift stores. The capacity of those operations to accept items is often limited by the space and staff (many relying on volunteers) available.
Diabetes Canada contacted the SCRD to inquire about potentially providing sites for drop boxes for its program. That group’s website reports a re-purposing rate of 95 per cent of the items collected. The nation-wide non-profit organization has operated a reusable goods donation program in partnership with Value Village thrift stores since 1985. The funds raised through that partnership, which the organization says averages at $5 million annually, are invested into youth programs, as well as for research into treatment and finding a cure for the disease.
Cooperation with the SCRD may be just a starting point for local programs. If Diabetes Canada is successful in coordinating the expansion of their textile recycling program onto the Coast, staff anticipate the organization could add more drop-off bin locations for textiles at other sites. There are currently Diabetes Canada donation collection bins in communities from Langford to Campbell River on Vancouver Island and throughout B.C.’s Lower Mainland, but no locations on either the lower or upper Sunshine Coast.
Improved recycling could extend landfill life
According to a 2014 SCRD waste composition study, six per cent of waste ending up in the landfill was textiles. Directing reclaimable textiles out of the waste stream would be a major step towards achieving the SCRD’s residential waste diversion goals, according to the report.
Greater diversion levels will mean less garbage per person to be disposed of, thereby helping to prolong the usable lifespan of the existing landfill. With current garbage disposal rates and predicted population growth, the SCRD received estimates in 2019 that the landfill could be at capacity in 2026.
In 2021, the SCRD board looked at four options for solid waste disposal once the Sechelt landfill is full. The option recommended for further investigation by a consulting firm that studied the matter was for the SCRD to build a new landfill near Halfmoon Bay. If permission to build a new landfill could be obtained, the costs were estimated to be in the $13 million range.
Other options in the study recommendations included shipping waste off-Coast, building a waste-to-energy plant or seeking expansion of the current Sechelt landfill site.
The board referred the study to staff for further refinement and the development of plans for both the landfill closure and the establishment of a new solid waste disposal solution.
Neither the potential appliance nor textile recycling additions are anticipated to increase the SCRD’s costs. Both new programs would involve local contractors in the management and transport of the materials.
If the board endorses moving forward with planning for the new services, there will be more detailed reports on the financial impacts and the bylaw revisions required during 2023 budget deliberations. Any recommendations from the committee are slated to be considered by the board at its July 28 meeting.
