Many items are still free to dispose of at the Regional Landfill

 

The more waste you create, the more you must pay. That’s the philosophy that administration is taking when it comes to the user pay system at the Regional Landfill. With nearly a year since fees were fully enforced, some residents still have questions around what is free, what has a cost, and why fees need to be charged in the first place.

During the September 10 regular council meeting, Manager of Solid Waste Operations at the landfill Dale Rankel provided council with a breakdown of the fee system and provided answers to the question of why. First and foremost, the reason for fees has less to do with being punitive and more about diverting waste from the landfill. Rankel said he has seen the process of building a new dump take years.

“It’s a very expensive and long process. We have a certain number of years left for our landfill before it’s full. The more we divert from the landfill then the longer the landfill will last us.” Currently, the diversion rate in Whitecourt is under 10 per cent which is a very low rate to have. Items that shouldn’t be at the landfill make up a big portion of why that number is as high as it is as does the issue of throwing things away that can be reused or recycled.

Administration keeps track of the life cycle of the landfill by tracking what comes into it each year. With those numbers they can figure out how long they have before they need to start the process of opening another landfill. The issue then becomes if residents cannot help by diverting refuse from the landfill, and continue throwing things away at a high rate, the life cycle gets smaller. Building a dump site is a large expense to a municipality so extending its life is important for everyone.

Even though the fee structure is being fully implemented now there are still many items that are accepted free of charge by the landfill. Residents can throw away up to 300 lbs. per day of bagged household waste. If the refuse is mixed and not separated, then it will cost $200 per tonne. The reason for that is simple. “The reason we ask you to put it in a bag is because you have no idea how many hours I spend with staff cleaning up the yard after a windstorm in our landfill. When it’s dumped out and loose and the wind is blowing it spreads all over that quarter section. Putting it in a bag holds that waste together. It doesn’t eliminate the problem completely, but it definitely rectifies most of it.”

Also free for disposal at the landfill are washers, dryers, dishwashers, stoves, fridges, freezers, AC units, coolers, and any metal unit with Freon. Vehicle, equipment, household batteries, and almost all standard batteries can also be disposed of without cost. Though daily limits apply, used oil, used oil filters, and DEF containers are free to throw away. Pesticide containers that are cleanly washed are no charge in a bin provided by Woodlands County.

Another free item is tires though there are some regulations on that. Call in to be sure prior to disposal. Providing you have two or less, 30 to 40 lb. propane tanks are free with each over two costing $10 each. One 100 lb. tank can be freely disposed of at a time, also. Rounding out the free list are grass, leaves, small branches, clean clay, subsoil, topsoil, clean rocks, and gravel.

For those looking to dispose of electronics, both the landfill and transfer station provide free recycling. Items accepted include alarm clocks, CD players, cell phones, computers, programmable kitchen appliances, printers, radios, telephones, televisions, and video game consoles. To find out if your electronic can be recycled for free contact either the landfill (780-648-2273) or the transfer station (780-778-5157).

The transfer station provides even more services beyond the landfill with household hazardous waste at no charge. The list accepted is long but here are a few examples: cleaning products, bleach, furniture strippers, adhesives, fungicides, aerosol cans, and automotive products.

The transfer station is the recycling destination for blue bags, cardboard, boxboard, and paper. It also accepts household garbage and offers free composted dirt for small loads. “We need to educate which I think is very important. People need to understand how the system works and why it does. Secondly, if people aren’t going to listen then we need to do something else which is, unfortunately, to fine them for bringing stuff here,” said Rankel, speaking of those who dump items that don’t belong where they place them.

“We have a very long way to go in terms of diversion rates. I still see tons of car parts coming into the landfill. I see all kinds of recyclable items that we’re going to have to, whether it be one by one or as a group, speak to that and deal with it whether it be bans that we need to put into place or extra charges to encourage people to do the right thing to get that recycling back to the transfer station and that’s what this is all about.”

“This year we paid for a $670,000 compacter and we used funds that we had from our commercial operation within the transfer station and landfill,” said Rankel. Other big-ticket items have been purchased through reserve funds that were set aside which have been used to build up the landfill and look after it. “In Edmonton, those costs are all directly paid for by the taxpayer. We depend a lot on our commercial entities and if we raise our commercial rate to where the bubble bursts then we aren’t going to have any funding left from that and the whole onus is going to end up on us.”