Foothills Landfill Impacted by Economic Downturn

By 250 News

Prince George, B.C.-  The Foothills landfill  in Prince George handled 105,280 tonnes of municipal solid waste last year.  Of that amount, 7.095 tonnes  of material, including yard and garden waste, was  recycled and 78,161 tonnes of waste was buried at the site.

The balance  of 20,024 tonnes includes sawdust and cover materials.

In addition to  municipal solid waste  handled at the site, 94 tonnes of waste asbestos  were buried at the landfill.

The  amount of  waste handled at the Foothills Site is down  16% from the year before  (92,535 tonnes) but that is not to suggest people are doing more recycling, rather it is a reflection of the downturn in the economy in 2008 and early 2009 as there has been a 38% decline in  landfill  from demolition land clearing and construction waste in 2009.

The loss of  the waste from  land clearing, construction  and demolition meant a drop in tipping  fee revenue.   That is why the  tipping fees had to be increased this year in order to offset the  loss of revenue  when the operations costs of the landfill have not declined.

Here are some of the highlights of the  recycling  efforts at   Foothills:

• Waste Oil            12,977 litres
• Oil Filters              1,000 kilograms
• Antifreeze              820 litres

Tires:

• Passenger and light truck  more than 60 tonnes
• Medium Truck tires,  5.0 tonnes
• Off road tires 300 kilograms

Scrap Metal:

• 895 tonnes of metal received ( up from  600 tonnes  the previous year)

Propane Bottles

• 400 bottles taken off site for refurbishing and reuse

Automotive Batteries

• nearly 3,000 batteries weighing  50tonnes

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