CRD Information Bulletin - Board Votes to Award Short-Term Kitchen Scraps Processing Contract

CRD Board Votes to Award Short-Term Kitchen Scraps Processing Contract

Victoria, BC- The Capital Regional District (CRD) Board decided yesterday to award a short-term processing contract (Contract 13-1787 Hauling and Receiving/Processing Household Kitchen Scraps), ensuring that kitchen scraps materials collected by municipalities and private haulers will remain out of the landfill. This contract will be awarded to Emterra Environmental, from April 2014 to December 2015. The Board also passed a motion to have the Environmental Services Committee review options for covering the incremental costs associated with the contract.

Long-term Strategy Option

The CRD Board has also passed a motion to move forward with a long-term option for the CRD to undertake an RFP process to identify a processing facility in proximity to the region. It will take time to secure a long-term solution to facilitate processing kitchen scraps on behalf of interested municipal and private haulers. This would require the CRD to secure long-term agreements to commit the kitchen scraps waste stream to a new processing facility. It is anticipated it will take three to six months to issue the RFP and evaluate the submissions.

General Strategy Information

The Regional Kitchen Scraps Strategy (RKSS) was approved by the CRD Board in 2012. The initial phase of the strategy, which started January 2013 and continues until the end of 2014, provides a $20/tonne incentive for waste haulers who deliver separate kitchen scraps loads to CRD-approved transfer stations and composting facilities. The CRD will implement a ban on kitchen scraps from disposal at Hartland landfill, still scheduled to begin January 1, 2015. For a detailed list of key dates and decisions please reference Appendix A.

The goal of the Regional Kitchen Scraps Strategy is to meet our long-term waste diversion strategy, divert kitchen scraps from the landfill and realize an in-region beneficial use from the diverted material. The implementation of the RKSS has encountered some unanticipated challenges with the license suspension of the only licensed processing facility in the region and the lack of private sector infrastructure investment in response to the scheduled ban. For a detailed list of key dates and decisions please reference Appendix A.

The CRD is a local government that delivers 200+ regional, sub-regional and local services for residents of the region which includes 13 municipalities and three electoral areas within 2370 square kilometres on southern Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. Governed by a 24 member Board of Directors, the CRD is working to serve the public, and build a vibrant, livable and sustainable region.

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For media inquiries, please contact:
Andy Orr, Senior Manager
CRD Corporate Communications
Tel: 250.360.3229
Cell: 250.216.5492