Two tipping fee rate increases for the Central Cariboo Transfer Station have been approved by the Cariboo Regional District (CRD) board.
The CRD’s supervisor of solid waste management Tera Grady said the cost will go up from $60 a ton for municipal waste to $70 by June 8, 2018 and $80 a ton on Jan. 4, 2019.
“We haven’t had a rate increase with Gibraltar Mine for the fixed costs of operating the CRD’s regional landfill located at Gibraltar, which they operate for us, in over 10 years,” Grady said, noting that tipping fees only cover 30 per cent of the costs to operate the transfer station on Frizzi Road and the regional landfill.
Higher tipping fees for demolition and construction materials are used as an incentive to pull out as much as possible such as metal or wood waste so the CRD is only land-filling material that cannot be utilized in some other way.
“They aren’t high when you compare them to other jurisdictions in the province,” Grady said of the tipping fees. “With the increase to $80 a ton for municipal solid waste we’ll be charging the same as a lot of other regional districts in the province. The provincial average is about $95 a ton for municipal waste.”
CRD chair Margo Wagner said by increasing the tipping fees the CRD and City are avoiding increasing taxation.
The goal is to make landfill space last as long as possible, and Grady will be updating the operations and closure plan for the Frizzi Road site next year, after which time she’ll be able to estimate how many more years it will be usable.
