The Town of Lake Cowichan will need to apply to the Cowichan Valley Regional District for a licence in order to convert organic waste into compost.
The town has begun preliminary research regarding the process and is keen on purchasing a composting machine called the BIOvator.
“We’ve already talked about sending two representatives to the University of Alberta,” said chief administrator Joe Fernandez at April’s Sustainable Planning and Development Committee meeting. I talked to Bob McDonald at the CVRD and he indicated the process of getting into composting. We would need a licence from the CVRD. It’s a four-month process but he saw it as a do-able thing.”
Notably, McDonald is the manager of recycling and waste management at the CVRD.
“The CVRD would partner the town in being responsible for the organic material and the neighbouring areas (Areas F and I) might get involved as well,” said Fernandez. “The CVRD has also offered to take us to the Ladysmith facility (Peerless Road recycling depot). I think we should have some discussion with them as to how we should approach the project.”
Coun. Tim McGonigle, the town’s CVRD representative, believes council should get on with the process of attaining the licence required.
“I think we should initiate the process of getting a licence regardless of where we’re going to transport the organics too,” he said. “If we were to uptake any more material, it would mean an amendment to the licence. So we would have to determine the volume of flow before we apply.”
Coun. Bob Day wants to see the town stay at the forefront of the process considering it was council’s own idea.
“I’d like to see us stay in the driver’s seat on this one,” he said. “It’s now time to discuss with the CVRD. I don’t mean push so hard but I don’t want us sitting waiting for somebody to tell us something.”
Fernandez aligned Day’s fears.
“We would be the one’s driving the whole process. The CVRD understands that.”
Coun. Jayne Ingram asked Fernandez that if the town was to add to its intake of organics, for example from the surrounding CVRD electoral areas, would that result in a change in size of the pending composting machine.
“That’s a good question, we still don’t know,” said Fernandez.
