Council is considering adoption of a new solid waste management bylaw which will implement a cost-recovery policy that involves new and revised charges for waste.

For residential users, this means, effective November 2023, a per tonne rate for self-hauled waste to the Kitimat Landfill if they are bringing in more than 100 kg of waste (otherwise don’t worry about it). In 2024, the District would implement a minimum charge (a “tipping fee”) of $5 which will cover up to 100 kg of solid waste, after which the user will also pay a per tonne rate. (We would, however, provide each Kitimat household with four no-cost visits, up to 100kg, each calendar year.)

Commercial users of the landfill will also see changes. Under the new bylaw, commercial waste will be weighed and charged by weight, rather than by volume.

The proposed schedule of fees is on our Kitimat Landfill page, Kitimat.ca/landfill.

Kitimat has a Solid Waste Action Plan (the “SWAP”) which has set guidance for how we manage solid waste. This was prepared in 2020.

Among the things identified is that our Landfill is not in compliance with current provincial landfill criteria, as criteria have changed over time.

Our landfill is currently in Phase 2, its final phase. It is a substantial investment to bring our landfill into compliance.

To prolong the life of the landfill, we are asking that residents sort their waste, by correctly using the expanded curbside collection program. In basic terms, use the landfill less, by diverting food waste and recyclables. Less waste means we can use the landfill longer.

Under our previous curbside collection program, we picked up general garbage waste each week and brought it to the Kitimat Landfill.

Today, we have four total streams of curbside collection and not all of it is bound for the landfill.

Garbage – The general catch-all of things that don’t quite fit into your other bins. This is deposited at the Kitimat Landfill

Recycling – Products accepted under the RecycleBC program go into your blue bin and yellow bag. These items are collected in a separate compartment in our collection trucks, and are bundled and shipped away to RecycleBC facilities in southern B.C.

Food Waste – The smelly and tasty things that birds and bears love that used to just be a part of your regular garbage are now part of your food waste. And like garbage under our old system, we collect this each and every week. Food waste picked up at curbside is ultimately taken to the Forceman Ridge Waste Management Facility, located between Kitimat and Terrace.

Yard Waste – Seasonally, May to November, we also collect your yard waste. These items are taken and placed in Kitimat Landfill’s onsite compost pile.

Still unsure of what goes where? Do you find the curbside collection program difficult to keep track of? Download the Recycle Coach app for free! It keeps a schedule and sends you reminders of your weekly curbside collection. You can search “what materials’ go where” in Kitimat. Visit: Recycling - District of Kitimat

There are a few factors to this question.

First, it discourages additional use of the Kitimat Landfill. After a lifetime of not having residential tipping fees, we understand it is a hard transition to having fees, but we’ll be frank; the less you need to bring your waste to the landfill the better.

Waste does have to go somewhere, and that’s where we are looking to Kitimat residents to take full advantage of their curbside program. As you saw in the last question, not everything goes to the Kitimat Landfill.

So, fees might make people think twice about using the landfill, and by extension we will see a higher use of all our curbside collections. And of course, the addition of new minimum charges will also support the recovery of the costs of operating the landfill.

The list below is to provide ideas. It is in no way a comprehensive list of items that go into the landfill.

• Large bulky items, that do not fit into your garbage bins (i.e. sofas, mattresses, large carpets)
• Large quantities or commercial quantities of waste, such as materials that would come from a construction project
• Bulky and broken furniture
• Broken or expired household items (i.e. broken large toys, expired carseats and expired safety harness etc.)
• Garden and garage items (i.e. broken: hoses, tarpaulins, broken ceramic and terracotta flower pots, fountains, pond liners, snow blower, lawn mower, broom and handle etc.)
• Household items and decorations (i.e. haunted pictures, broken picture frames and vases, chipped dishes, large lampshades, curtains and curtain rods etc).
• Sporting goods and recreational equipment
• Renovation and construction materials
• Large appliances for recycling (i.e. refrigerators, ovens, freezers, drained hot water tanks etc.)

As a responsible owner of household pets (i.e. dogs, cats, rodents, birds, reptiles etc.) you need to make sure that you regularly dispose of their fecal waste. Please place your fecal waste within an enclosed plastic garbage bag and dispose of this waste with your regular garbage pick-up. Small poop bags are acceptable.

Please do not dispose of this waste in your food waste container, as our compost systems cannot fully remove the biohazards from this type of waste.

Hazardous waste of any kind can be dangerous to the natural environment and to landfill operators and visitors. Please do not dispose of the following items at the Landfill:

• Automobile waste. The landfill site has designated areas for rimless tires and lead-acid batteries. Motor oil must be brough to drop off locations such as Kal Tire
• Household hazardous waste - chemicals, paint and other
• Lithium-ion batteries – please remember to remove batteries in children’s toys!

Our property tax notices include a flat fee that addresses waste collection, but the fee actually does not cover the full cost of managing waste in the community.

The rest of the cost is covered through general property taxation, and fees paid by commercial users of the landfill.

Adding minimum charges, and per tonne rates for larger loads, we’re working to shift the cost of the landfill from being from our collective property taxes to being a cost to the users of the landfill.

We provide waste management through our property taxes to collect your curbside waste and under this proposed model we will continue to provide landfill access with the four free visits each year.

From that point, costs would be recovered from those who generate additional waste.

As noted above, we want people to take full advantage of their curbside collection services.

As it is now, our landfill has no fee associated with residential self-haul. Yet, illegal dumping has been an issue in the Kitimat Valley and throughout our beautiful region for decades. Unfortunately, illegal dumping happens in all parts of BC, disrupting and destroying the natural environment with harmful human waste.

If you witness or notice illegal dumping, we encourage you to report it.

Record the following information:

• Location (look for landmarks to best describe the location, and note if it is on Crown or Private Land
• Date and Time
• Description of waste
• Photo
• Vehicle License plate number (if witnessing the violation)

If the illegal dumping has happened on Crown Land, report to RAPP (Report All Poachers and Polluters), BC’s Conservation Officer hotline 1-877-952-7277. You can report a non-emergency electronically via the RAPP form Report All Poachers and Polluters (RAPP) – Environmental Protection & Sustainability Forms (gov.bc.ca). You can also report illegal dumping and other environmental related violations on your cell phone, through the BCWILDLIFE FEDERATION Conservation App

If illegal dumping has occurred within the District of Kitimat, report to the Bylaw Enforcement Department by submitting a bylaw complaint form.

We anticipate that the minimum charge to the landfill will not lead to any substantial increase as people’s decision to dump illegally is typically not based on price. That said, we know there is a possibility and that is why these bylaw changes include four no-cost visits to the landfill each calendar year.

We understand – and have heard a lot lately - that people use the landfill frequently and even with the four visits it wouldn’t cover their use.

We hope this is an opportunity for residents to think about how much waste they are generating, how much they are using our curbside program, and how they are sorting their waste.

For example, we’ve heard a reason for regular landfill trips is to prevent bear attractants, as we no longer have weekly garbage collection. Wildlife is generally attracted to food waste, and our green bins for food waste are collected weekly.

Thoroughly separating food waste and rinsing and removing food waste residue from regular garbage will mean less worry that your waste is attracting animals.

Our cost-recovery memo (www.kitimat.ca/swap) provided guidance that changing the hours of the landfill would support a more cost-effective operation, which recognized many of the new service requirements that are in place for landfills today.

We have heard the feedback the landfill closes too early for people who work later in the day.

While we understand it is an earlier closure than it has been, the landfill is open six days a week. We believe this is a fair compromise so people can still get to the landfill around their work schedule.

But please, let us pick up your waste for you at the curb as much as possible!

The food waste at the curb is collected separately and then placed in a large steel covered bin, within an electric fence at a transfer station at our landfill. This area is restricted to material collected at the curb, to reduce the risk of contamination.

Every 10 days, the food waste is sent to the Forceman Ridge Waste Management Facility to be composted.

We ask eligible residents to dispose of their food waste at the curb, as there is no public access to the food waste disposal bin at our landfill site.