Consultation Plan on Garbage Unveiled

Friday, July 18, 2008 11:27 AM

Prince George, B.C. - The Regional District of Fraser Fort George has started its public consutlation on the draft waste management plan.

The RDFFG has placed the full plan on its website, along with a brief survey. "We want to make sure we got it right, that we are doing what the people told us" says consultant Maura Walker.

The plan makes a major push towards recycling and user fees so people and businesses will take more responsibility for the garbage they create.

The plan will be discussed at the July 21st Prince George City Council meeting, there will be a public session at the Civic Centre on July 24th from 5-8 p.m.

The community of McBride will be invited to talk about it on Tuesday July 22nd, and Mackenzie residents will see a public meeting on the 28th.

Walker knows that with new user fees and banned items from the landfills, some people may turn to illegal dumping "There will always be some who will illegally dump, it's one of those social behavious we can't figure out" she says. Walker says with education, behaviours can be modified.

The Regional District's Manager of Waste Services, Petra Wildauer says there is still a long road to travel "We need to have detailed discussions with the communities about what kind of recycling they want, bags, carts, boxes, how many streams, one two or three, who will pick up the recyclables and how they will be handled. Of course there are budget considerations as well."

The final report is expected to be delivered to the Regional District in September and to the Ministry of Environment for approval shortly after that.

You can see highlights of the draft plan in the story Opinion 250 wrote on the project yesterday. You can also access the full draft plan by clicking here.

There is also an on line survey which can be accesed here. The survey will be available until August 3rd.

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Posted on Friday, July 18, 2008 11:27 AM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: MrPG on July 18 2008 11:47 AM

"Walker knows that with new user fees and banned items from the landfills, some people may turn to illegal dumping "There will always be some who will illegally dump, it's one of those social behaviours we can't figure out" she says."

I can help you. If you make dumping more expensive, people will look for alternatives to avoid the cost and hassle. Illegal dumping will increase despite education. People will do what it takes to avoid an excessive dumping fee.

I'm all for recycling, but this could be a recipe for disaster.

Posted by: MrPG on July 18 2008 11:54 AM

Start with curbside recycling, don't start banning otherwise recyclable stuff. The curbside recycling program alone should take a significant bite out of the materials going to landfills.

Posted by: owl on July 18 2008 1:37 PM

"There will always be some who will illegally dump, it's one of those social behavious we can't figure out"

Maybe this site will help her ... I'll send here a $500 bill for finding it in 1 minute ....

I am sure sometimes these people must regret that they opened their mouth ..

http://www.earthforce.org/content/article/detail/1569

As it states, the factors are reasonably well known ...

The problem is to figure out what to do about it. It states the other obvious observation - enforcement is insufficient. Often the sites are known. So one has to invest in some attempt at enforcement, and then make some examples of those they find to be dumping.

enngineer, educate, enforce ....

so,

1. design a system that should work by itself

2. educate people of how and why to use the system

3. have enforcement ready to go if the first two do not work.

When was the last time someone from the Regional District did anything to make the general public aware of how they can get rid of items they no longer need? Has there ever been a proper campaign? If so, was it effective?

Posted by: Harbinger on July 18 2008 10:16 PM

If there is a dollar to be made by someone in this garbage business, people will find a way to take advantage of it. If not, the government can use our money to deal with it. It don't get no simpler than that. Key word? Incentive.