A 10 per cent hike in tipping fees at RDCK landfills and transfer stations will be effective as of tomorrow, February 1.
According to Uli Wolf, General Manager of Environmental Services, as waste management becomes more complex, capital and operating costs, which include fuel, labour, insurance, interest on borrowing repayment, and more stringent regulatory requirements, continue to increase.
Additionally, sufficient reserve funds are required to minimize future borrowing costs and fund a number of long-term projects such as landfill upgrades and infrastructure replacement.
“We want to be as close as possible following a user pay system, meaning that whoever produces waste pays for the waste instead of the general public paying for the waste being disposed.” said Wolf.
The purpose of this is to financially incentivize diversion.
“We fully understand that we all see current cost pressures, inflation, putting a pressure on all our residents and businesses and we try to minimize the impact from our operations,”
“Part of the cost efficiency study has provided us with some suggestions how costs can be reduced. And we are in the process of making these changes that allow us to hopefully keep these increases to a minimum.”
The bylaw also has made changes to promote diversion of organic waste to composting facilities, through the acceptance of compostable plastic bag liners, produced from biomass, for their environmental benefits and competitive pricing.
“We encourage residents, if they have specific questions to contact us, and we are happy to discuss the changes that we have with them.”
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