Nearly 160 people spent Saturday, July 8th on behind-the-scenes landfill tours at the Comox Valley Waste Management Centre.
Shuttled by bus, participants of all ages discovered everything from where their garbage goes and ways to divert waste from the landfill to managing birds and wildlife, capturing and treating leachate, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The tours drove home the opportunity for collective improvement by taking simple steps to reduce waste, thereby reducing the amount of residual waste going into the landfill. A waste composition study conducted in 2017 revealed that over 50% of what currently goes into the landfill could be recycled or composted.
"This was the first time we have offered public tours and we are thrilled with the level of interest. There's no better way to educate about the magnitude and complexity of responsible solid waste management than showing people firsthand where their garbage goes and the care that goes into ensuring it's disposed of properly," noted Vivian Schau, Senior manager of Comox Strathcona Waste Management Services. "We were delighted to see the community's interest in learning about how we manage waste, their role in reducing the waste they generate, and their thoughts about how the Comox Strathcona Waste Management service could be adapted in the future to better serve the community."
The current solid waste management plan, a blueprint for how solid waste is managed over a ten year horizon, was developed in 2012 and is due for an update. The public tours were offered at the start of Step 2 of the solid waste management plan renewal process, a multi-phased, multi-year process to inform how solid waste will be managed over the next ten years. This step of the process invites feedback on draft goals and principles that will guide solid waste management and inform the specific strategies and options that might be considered in the future.
The Weigh In On Waste conversation continues throughout the summer. Residents are encouraged to keep an eye out for future landfill tours and to take the survey at www.cswm.ca/swmp. Complete the survey before Monday, September 25, 2023, for a chance to win a $100 gift certificate to a Habitat for Humanity Restore.
To learn more and Weigh In On Waste, visit: www.cswm.ca/swmp
The Comox Strathcona Waste Management service area is located in the Coast Salish, Kwakwaka’wakw, and Nuu-chah-nulth territories.
-30-
Media contact:
Vivian Schau, Senior Manager of CSWM Services
Tel: 250-334-6025