One More Time: Why A Landfill?

A few people, mostly those who took advantage of low property values near the Pender landfill and a few others who bought water-access only property on Sakinaw Lake but now cheat by sneaking down a forestry access road past the landfill, think the Pender landfill is an eyesore and a nuisance. But the vast majority of Pender Residents see it differently: as an old friend that has served the community well over the years and which we will be poorer without. But it’s not just sentiment. Landfills are a valuable resource. The Ministry of Environment (MoE) “grandfathers” established sites like ours but harsh new restrictions make it prohibitive to start new ones. Powell River tried this recently but found it cheaper to truck its waste to Cache Creek at a cost of $160 a ton. At this price, the Pender landfill is worth $228,000 a year and $3.65 million over the next 20 years. This is the value of the resource the SCRD wants to throw away.

As long as we have our own landfill, we can chart our own course that is independent from that of the SCRD. This is valuable for two reasons. The SCRD’s waste function is launched on a breakneck spending binge. Its regional waste tax grew at the rate of 100% a year between 2005 and 2009. Its spending at our landfill doubled since 2007

The SCRD spends more money weighing our garbage than it does disposing of it (this is no reflection on our wonderful landfill staff who receive little of the money.) The actual landfilling activity it claims is too expensive represents only about one-fifth of the $500,000 the SCRD spends “managing” the Pender landfill. But spending at the Pender landfill is nothing compared to spending planned at the Sechelt site. One item alone, a new cover system aimed at reducing its chronic leachate problem, will cost $8 million. The SCRD wants as many paying passengers as it can get this on runaway freight train of overspending, but it is not in Area A’s interests to be aboard.

As long as we keep our own landfill, we keep open the option of leaving the SCRD waste function should we form our own municipality. Then we could rid ourselves of the staggering SCRD management costs and run a tight little community operation that would do a far better job. If we lose our landfill, we will be forever tied to a bloated SCRD waste empire that will prove a backbreaking burden on local finances.

A fate worth fighting to avoid!