recycling

Solid Waste

 

The City's Solid Waste Division is responsible for management of garbage, recycling and composting programs.

 

The City of Vancouver is committed to participate in the regional Integrated Solid Waste and Resource Management Plan with four primary goals:

  1. to minimize waste generation
  2. to maximize reuse, recycling and material recovery
  3. to recover energy from the waste stream after material recycling
  4. to dispose of all remaining waste in landfill, after material recycling and energy recovery

Under this plan, the regional diversion rate is to increase from the current average of 55% to a minimum of 70% by 2015.

Residential Food Scraps Collection

About 35% of garbage from single-family residences is made up of compostable food scraps. By collecting food scraps, we can turn what was considered garbage into valuable compost, cut down on greenhouse gases, and keep tonnes of organic material out of our landfill every year.

Since April 2010, uncooked fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds and filters, teabags, and eggshells are being collected bi-weekly as per the current yard trimmings collection schedule.

Vancouver Landfill

landfill diagramMethane gas captured from the Vancouver Landfill is being used to generate heat and electricity.  Methane is created when the organics in our garbage, such as food, paper and wood waste, break down in the landfill.  It is over 20 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere, making it a greenhouse gas of significant concern.  Prior to 2003, methane was collected from the landfill through vertical and horizontal pipes in the garbage and converted into carbon dioxide at the landfill gas flare station.  In 2003, the City of Vancouver partnered with Maxim Power Corp for beneficial use of landfill gas in off-site engines.  The landfill gas flare station was upgraded to include equipment to cool and remove water from the gas, then send it under pressure through a 2.5 kilometer pipeline to Maxim’s powerhouse.  The powerhouse is where the engines are located that burn the gas and create electricity.  The electricity is sold to BC Hydro, while waste heat from the engines is collected in the form of hot water and utilized in nearby Hot House Growers' Village Farms greenhouses.  Additional gas collection wells are installed as more waste is placed in the landfill.

The project produces enough electricity for approximately 6,000 households each year.

Over the next 20 years the City of Vancouver will receive $250,000 to $300,000 in energy revenues each year, which will offset the cost of operating the landfill gas control system.

Other environmental initiatives at the landfill include a yard trimmings composting facility that produces valuable topsoil, and naturescaped areas that provide habitat for native wildlife.

 

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