Representatives from the Squamish Lillooet Regional District (SLRD) were at the Squamish Farmers’ Market on Saturday to find out what’s in our garbage and how the community feels about solid waste.
At a booth amongst stalls selling jewelry, produce and homemade goods, SLRD environmental coordinator Meredith Gee was asking market-goers to complete a survey about the regional district’s Solid Waste and Resources Management Plan. The Let’s Talk Trash initiative was aimed at allowing Squamish and Area D residents to share their feedback on the updated plan and new curbside organics collection that began in the community in May.
“The organics totes were given out to single-family homes and duplexes in the community,” she said. “The program will be expanded soon to also include all townhomes in Squamish. Squamish is really leading the way with these residential totes.”
Establishing long-term capacity for garbage disposal in the region is a key consideration of the corridor-wide plan, as Whistler currently sends its waste to a privately owned landfill in Washington State, and the Squamish landfill is nearing capacity.
The SLRD is looking for feedback on, amongst other things, short-term plans that could include exporting garbage out of the corridor to another landfill until a regional option has been identified, or expanding the Squamish landfill vertically, with relevant approvals, which would gain an estimated additional 13 to 14 years of capacity. The regional district is also looking to tackle illegal dumping and initiate a region-wide campaign to reduce food waste.
“Organic waste makes up 40 per cent of the waste in the landfills in the region,” said Gee.
Saturday’s Let’s Talk Trash booth at the Squamish Farmers’ Market was the last in a series of public feedback events that began in Lillooet in June, with stops in Pemberton and Whistler. The initiative also provided information on what can be recycled locally and how to compost in bear country, as well as what happens to materials after they are dropped off at the Transfer Stations.
Anyone who missed participating in the initiative at any of the community events can still take the survey and look over the updated plan at www.slrd.bc.ca/letstalktrash.
