The Regional District of Bulkley Nechako (RDBN) announced in a press release that they would be suspending the cardboard ban at the Knockholt landfill on a month-by-month basis until November 1.
“We decided to keep the ban suspended for this month, meaning another month where cardboard is allowed to be landfilled, and will look at the appropriateness of the ban from month to month for the next little bit,” said Mark Fisher the area A director for the RDBN, in an email to Lakes District News.
Earlier in June, the RDBN had announced that they would be reinstating the ban on industrial, commercial and institutional (ICI) cardboard at the Knockholt Landfill starting August 1. This ban would have meant that the businesses and institutions that have been using the landfill to get rid of their cardboard waste, would need an alternative solution.
The latest news release comes on the heels of the RDBN’s efforts to find alternative solutions to dispose of the ICI carboard waste. The release mentions that this suspension would not exceed November 1, in order to support “the progress that is being made on an ICI cardboard solution for the region.”
Last year, in May 2019, a fire destroyed the receiving facility in Smithers which led to the Knockholt landfill being the receiving facility for ICI cardboard from the entire western part of the RDBN. When the dumping of all the additional material started to threaten the stability of the landfill, leading to an early expansion of the landfill, the RDBN started looking for alternative solutions for ICI cardboard.
In the email, Fisher also confirmed that there has been some interest and some things in the works for finding alternative solutions for the ICI cardboard however, nothing has been fixed as of yet.
“We are hoping things fall into place soon so that we can re-impose the ban permanently,” he wrote.
The press release also talked about hosting a stakeholder engagement round-table called “Connect for Cardboard” on August 27, as a joint effort between the RDBN and Smithers Chamber of Commerce. The details of this event would be announced later in the month.
The July 24 press release concluded by stating that the Reuse-Sheds in the RDBN would continue to remain closed.
“We understand the inconvenience this may cause and that you are eager for them to reopen. At this time, reopening these sheds would not be safe or practical for both staff and residents. Your safety and the safety of our region is our top concern, and we hope you will be understanding and patient during these difficult times,” said the press release.
