The tasks on the table of the Solid Waste Resource Management Advisory Committee (SWRMAC) have included coming up with a long-term solid waste management plan and a new solid waste collection contract in compliance with regulations set by the provincial government and Metro Vancouver. To align the plan with principles incorporated in Bowen's Official Community Plan (OCP) and work toward the concept of zero waste, the committee has looked for possibilities to increase efficiencies that include reducing shipments off the island.
At the April 8 council meeting, Don Marshall, SWRMAC's chair, said that the challenge is that Bowen's current solid waste management practices "do not reflect our commitment to environmental preservation and are not cost effective."
SWRMAC mapped out two options, the base case and the proposed case, on how to move forward. Both case studies are based on current curbside pick-up and the committee recommends proceeding with the proposed case as it would increase efficiencies that could result in cost savings. "For the proposed case, we continue to provide curbside pickup as it exists now," Marshall said. "We also see the need to expand the transfer ramp [at the resource recovery facility] and lease a front-end loader/backhoe to compact organics, non-organics and some recyclables prior to shipment off island."
In addition to those measures, SWRMAC suggests appointing a hands-on resource recovery manager who will "dedicate time to the negotiation and administration of solid waste contracts and recyclable sales terms and the development of zero waste plans for Bowen Island," the report states.
"This is a phased approach and we consider this to be phase one of a long term plan," Marshall said, adding that options like a municipally-run composting facility and resident garbage drop-off are not under consideration at the moment but, as practices change, may be back on the table in the future. For now, the committee asked council to earmark $80,000 for site improvements at the resource recovery facility, adjacent to the Bowen Island Recycling Depot.
SWRMAC member Peter Taggart has looked closely at the numbers and sees potential savings in the reduction of trips off the island. "One way to address the problem [of increasing efficiencies] is to increase payloads," he said. He explained that taking non-organic waste and organics off the island is part of Bowen Waste Services' contract but transporting recycling is paid for per trip.
"Organics are currently shipped out on Tuesdays and non-organics on Wednesdays. That is based on the weekday and not on the weight," Taggart said, adding that a system where the number of trips was determined by weight and where the material was compacted could lead to substantial savings. "[For recyclables,] we paid for 109 trips in 2012," he said. "If we compact, we can get that down to 89 trips." Taggart said that SWRMAC's economics were "pretty robust" and could lead to substantial savings over time. "We've done our best to keep capital cost at a minimum and have also kept site preparation cost at a minimum," he said, adding that a baling machine, funded and owned by the municipality, could be used to maximize payloads of non-organics and recyclables and has been identified as a "severable option."
SWRMAC member Dai Robert also stressed the need to take action. "We started by looking for major savings and came down to improving efficiency," he said. "If you walk around the [resource recovery site], you realize that it is not conducive to a highly efficient operation."
SWRMAC's report says that "the solid waste management program could be divided into three components: curbside pick-up of organics and non-organics, the operation of the resource recovery facility and shipment of waste and recycle products to the mainland." Currently, all three components are performed by a single contractor but the committee believes that there might be advantages to dividing the overall scope of work with an option to assign the operation of the resource recovery facility to the Bowen Island Municipality (BIM). "By doing so, BIM could avoid being locked into a five-year contract during which period there could be substantial changes to the contractual scope of work. The number of trips to the Lower Mainland could be reduced to the roughly 20 per cent of those in 2012 when a loader/backhoe is used. The use of a baler could reduce the total number of shipments to less than 50 per cent of current values," the report says.
Roberts explained that the committee set out to identify savings and, at the same time, make sure that the savings come to the municipality. "We determined that savings can only come from compacting and fewer trips off the island," he said. "We now carry four, five, six tonnes where we could carry 20 tonnes. And we could carry multiple bales to deliver them to wherever they need to go."
Councillor Cro Lucas said that the money for the capital cost could be taken out of reserves with a view at cost recovery. "If we borrow $80,000 out of the reserves and use a loader/backhoe together with a baler, the savings would be huge," he said.
On the recommendation of BIM's interim manager finance Kristen Watson, council authorized staff to include $80,000 for potential improvements to a resource recovery facility at the BIRD site, funded by the capital stabilization fund in the 2013 budget. Council deferred the recommendation from SWRMAC to appoint a resource recovery manager.
