After turning their backs on landfills in 2009, Metro Vancouver is reconsidering its words.
Greg Moore, chair of MV’s board of directors, announced last week that the regional district is re-evaluating its plan for incinerators due to the decreasing amount of waste they are collecting.
Moore said they still believed the Waste To Energy options were the best, but said they would be going back to landfilling while the directors considered their next move.
“It’s a good news story not only for people of the Lower Mainland,” said Cache Creek Mayor John Ranta, “but also for the potential of landfilling in Cache Creek.
Despite MV formally turning their backs on landfills in favour of incinerators in 2009, Ranta says he has told the regional district on several occasions that Cache Creek is still interested in pursuing a landfill relationship.
“There has been no indication from them that they are interested,” he adds.
Municipal politicians often run into each other at conferences and workshops, and Ranta says he will be talking to Moore and other Lower Mainland politicians in the Spring.
The Cache Creek Landfill was to close next year on Dec. 20 when the agreement among MV, Wastech and the Village came to an end, but that has been extended to Dec. 31, 2016.
Ranta says the Village budgeted for the cessation of landfill revenue in mid-2016 but now they are expecting it to carry on until end of 2016.
Not only was the Village expecting to receive 100,000 tonnes of municipal garbage from the Lower Mainland, but that has been increased to 180-190,000 tonnes.
The landfill will continue to be operational until end of December 2016, says Ranta.
Cache Creek and Wastech are still waiting for an Operational Certificate for the Cache Creek Extension. They have been told that progress is being made on the certificate.