The recent community open houses held by the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) on its draft solid waste management plan were deemed a success, but there is still much more work to be done before the plan is approved and implemented.
Gibsons, Sechelt and Pender Harbour each held sessions at the end of June where residents were provided with an opportunity to learn about the plan, ask questions and fill out a community survey.
Approximately 100 people attended the open houses, including local government officials as well as two representatives from the Ministry of Environment.
Dion Whyte, SCRD manager of sustainable services, said the SCRD is still in the process of reviewing feedback. He said there were a few comments that emerged on multiple occasions at the open houses. These included the issue of "pay as you throw" garbage collection services where residents pay by weight or volume of garbage set out at curbside; incorporating language into solid waste services to recognize bear and human conflict and to encourage the private sector to do the same; and the issue of industry and the consumer being held responsible for managing waste by purchasing products that do not generate garbage in the first place. Those three items, Whyte said, were items the plan had not really addressed, but stood out as things he heard from numerous people.
Open house attendees brought up curbside recycling as well, which has been repeatedly discussed at SCRD board meetings and is currently implemented in Sechelt.
Whyte said he heard both sides of the curbside issue.
"I heard from a number of people that they support it and would like to see it happen in their communities, but I also heard from a number of people who felt it was too expensive and not necessary, that they were happy to take their materials to a drop-off facility," Whyte said.
Additionally, Whyte received a wide range of individual questions and comments around things like food scrap waste and resource recovery.
"It was a good process," said Whyte of the open houses. "I'm satisfied with the number of people who turned out, but we always wish there were more. The discussion in general was really positive. By and large, I found that people found the information clear and understandable. We're quite delighted by that."
Whyte and his team will continue to sort through the feedback and the surveys in order to make any plan adjustments in the coming weeks and will report back to the board.
