CRD will no longer accept most wood, carpet and asphalt shingles at landfill

(Capital Regional District/Facebook)

The Capital Regional District is banning several items of waste at the Hartland Landfill in an effort to divert recyclable materials from ending up in the trash.

Starting on Jan. 1, 2024, carpet, asphalt shingles and wood that is clean, treated or salvageable, will no longer be accepted at the landfill.

Instead, people can bring these types of materials to the landfill, where it will then be transported offsite for recycling through contracts with the private sector.

"With this ban, each year, the CRD is expecting to divert 27,500 tonnes of wood, 9,000 tonnes of asphalt shingles and 4,000 tonnes of carpet and underlay," said the regional district in a release Friday.

The CRD will also increase the general refuse tipping fee at the landfill from $110 per tonne to $150 per tonne, and plans to implement a bylaw ticketing structure that includes higher fines for repeated or serious infractions.

Earlier this year, the CRD released a report saying that nearly half of all solid waste dumped at the Hartland landfill in 2022 could have been diverted through existing recycling programs.

"The proposed material stream diversion initiatives have the potential to divert up to 40,500 tonnes of waste per year," said CRD board chair Colin Plant in a statement.

"This is an incredible step forward to help achieve our 2023-2026 board priority of maximizing solid waste diversion as well as help achieve the Solid Waste Management Plan goals to reduce the region's waste by more than one-third and extend the life of Hartland Landfill to 2100 and beyond," he said.