Lac La Biche County councillors are considering dumping the idea of making a regional landfill in Hylo.
At an information session on Jan. 5, county employees and a consultant presented updates on waste management. After the meeting, councillors said they are leaning away from the idea of constructing a regional landfill. No formal decision was made, but they said they would like to consider other options, such as more recycling and trucking garbage elsewhere.
One deterrent was the overall cost of the landfill.
Steve Johnson, an engineer with AECOM, had estimated construction would cost over $35,000,000, and assuming that each household produces one tonne of garbage, operational costs would be about $83 per tonne per year. Trucking garbage away to Thorhild would cost $123 to $138 per tonne.
But Ward 7 Councillor Gail Broadbent pointed out that the landfill costs are mostly up-front expenses, which the county cannot afford. They would have to take out a loan, and with interest the costs would be even higher, Broadbent said.
“We’re better off looking at other alternatives,” she said. “The interest is going to kills us.”
The long-term commitment to the landfill is something else that deterred other councillors. Deputy Mayor Aurel Langevin voiced concerns over rapidly changing technology, saying that if the landfill is constructed, the county will not be able to accommodate improvements in waste management.
“In 15 years, what kind of technology will be have?’ Langevin asked.
Mayor Peter Kirylchuk also said he’s not a fan of landfills and that he’s worried about their sanitary implications. He pointed out that they attract birds, who dig in the waste and then can possibly spread disease.
Other councillors also expressed little support for constructing a landfill.
But there were concerns over trucking out garbage as well. Ward 3 Councillor Guy Piquette said he’s worried what would happen if a municipality that accepts others’ garbage had suddenly decided to stop. And Ward 6 Councillor Tim Thompson expressed concern about how much trucking would cost in the future if gas prices continue to rise.
If the county did decide to truck out garbage, councillors would still need to make a decision of where to construct the main transfer site for transporting the waste.
Waste management: a long-time issue
The Hylo landfill proposal has been an issue for 20 years. In 1999, a study concluded that a regional landfill would be needed to accommodate all the waste being produced. Researching the proposal has cost the county more than $900,000 to date.
But county administration officials also proposed several other initiatives to improve waste management at last week’s meeting.
They are suggesting reducing hours of operation for landfills across the county, which would save $171,429 a year. They are also proposing to extend curbside pickup to all of the communities in the county, which could cost from $120,000 to $187,000 a year. These proposals are based on results of several public surveys done last year.
Another initiative being considered is reducing waste with an enhanced recycling program that would include curbside pick-up of recycling, compositing and reducing the use of plastic bags. It could also include buying a wood-chipper, giving the county wood chips that could be used to control soil erosion. Officials also requested a free trial of a waste-to-energy program in which garbage is broken down and is converted to energy.
“Our community does not recycle as much as (others do) provincially and nationally,” said Barry Kolenosky, Director of Planning & Infrastructure Services and acting CAO. “And that’s concerning,”
They also suggested that a solid waste committee should be established, composed of three councillors and four other community members. The county does not currently have a Solid Waste Services Manager.
Decisions may be made before a public input session can happen.
Last week’s meeting was originally supposed to be a public input session, but county officials changed that. Although community members could attend, they couldn’t comment.
The public input session has been rescheduled for Feb. 13 at which time councillors, administration and the consulting engineer will be present to answer questions.
But it is possible for council to make decisions before then, Kirylchuk said.
