It’s going to cost a lot more to drop off cardboard and other materials, but less to leave refrigerators at the Sechelt Landfill and Pender Harbour Transfer Station, the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) has announced.
The fee increases take effect Friday, Feb. 26, when commercial and residential landfill customers will also be required to start separating cardboard from other materials in their loads, the SCRD said in a news release.
Fees for cardboard are jumping to $285 per tonne from $150, and additional fees will be added if cardboard is mixed in with garbage.
“Residential customers can avoid fees related to recycling cardboard by bringing it to one of the three SCRD operated recycling depots in Gibsons, Sechelt and Pender Harbour for free,” the release noted. It did not specify what additional fees would be levied if cardboard was mixed in a garbage load.
“[T]ipping fees fund the full costs of those materials that are diverted for recycling. So, as the transportation and recycling costs increase, so unfortunately does the tipping fee associated with these materials,” the release said.
Scrap metal drop-off is more than doubling to $150 per tonne from $70. Drywall fees are rising to $295 per tonne from $265.
There are also big increases for propane tanks, to $2 from 50 cents for a one-pound camping-size unit and to $10 for 25-pounders and larger, which had ranged from $2 to $5.50.
It will cost less to dispose of refrigerators and freezers, however, with a drop to $30 each from $40.
The fee increases were approved by the SCRD’s infrastructure services committee in November and are expected to be formally signed off by the board of directors at its Feb. 25 meeting.
