The District of Squamish is looking at four solutions to the fast approaching closure of the Cheekye Fan landfill, but at least one option for dealing with solid waste has Brackendale residents fuming.
The Squamish Nation has partnered with MacDonald Corporation developers in proposing a Cheekye Fan incinerator to take in waste from the entire corridor while producing electric and heat energy.
But nearby Brackendale residents don't like the idea.
"The incinerator is too goddamn costly," said Thor Froslev.
Other Brackendale residents also have concerns over air quality.
"They do emit particles and you also have to deal with the ash issue down the road," said Bill Jackson.
A district pamphlet handed out during a Wednesday Nov. 22 public landfill meeting stated that landfill's capital costs would be $60 to $80 million and CO2 emissions would be equivalent to 1,000 cars.
But MacDonald president Jerry Bordian said the energy produced would offset costs, and the emissions described in the pamphlet is based on old technology.
"The technology has changed so dramatically and it's become so efficient that it's probably the cleanest method to date to be able to deal with waste," said Bordian.
MacDonald has a "general" interest in Squamish, said Bordian whose company contributed $10,000 to the Squamish New Direction during the November 2005 municipal election campaign. MacDonald Corporation is also heavily involved in development at Britannia Beach.
The company applied for acquisition of Crown Land near the Cheekye Fan last year and entered into the partnership with Squamish Nation to look at "various business opportunities", said Bordian.
Squamish Nation Chief Gibby Jacob said the band is working with the province to receive Crown Land near the Cheekye, and is also talking with MacDonald about residential development in the area.
Although an incinerator is considered more appealing than a landfill for potential nearby developments, both spokesmen say that the incinerator proposal came out of a desire for the betterment of Squamish and the environment.
"I think we've got to change our mindset with what we're doing with solid wastes," said Jacob. "If there are alternatives to a regional landfill, let's have a look at it."Bordian pointed to Denmark's Waste-to-Energy program as a new era in incinerators that emit less greenhouse gases than a landfill emits in methane. Denmark's program is also economically self-sufficient, using the energy it produces to sustain its own engines and provide power to the grid.
But appeals to consider the option may fall on deaf ears. Squamish has been rejecting incinerator proposals for decades, according to Froslev.
"I became an alderman in 1976 and [Mayor] Dave Stewart was exploring the possibility of an incinerator," said Froslev. "Pat Brennan became mayor after that and they didn't like the idea."
Another option being reconsidered is a regional landfill with an organic recycling component, which was first recommended in 2004. The district is now considering a partnership with the Squamish Lillooet Regional District (SLRD) to expand the landfill for regional use and involve the Carney's Organic Recycling facility.
An SLRD steering committee passed a resolution Monday (Nov. 27) to begin negotiations to buy Carney's Organic Recycling, which council ordered closed last spring due to an inability to control odour emissions.
"We're still, Squamish with the SLRD, looking at Carney's composting and how that fits into the whole plan for the future because what we do with Carney's will impact to a large degree what else we do," said Mayor Ian Sutherland.
To make the proposal work, SLRD staff must establish a new site for the facility, the ownership/operating structure and a detailed cost/revenue estimate of the facility. The board will decide whether to endorse the committee's recommendation on Dec. 15.
The district is also looking at shipping waste to a huge landfill at the Highland Valley Copper Mine in B.C.'s interior. The capital costs of building the necessary transfer station would be around $1.5 million, and the on-going cost would run at approximately $110 per tonne of waste.
Sutherland said the district will hold more public landfill option meetings as more information is gathered.
