Solid Waste
Management
Plan
June
2000
Table of Contents
Index
Executive Summary ......................................................................................... i
Vision Statement ............................................................................................. v
Guiding Principles ........................................................................................... v
Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1
Chapter 1: Residential Collection .................................................................... 9
Chapter 2: Commercial Collection .................................................................. 21
Chapter 3: Waste Minimization ....................................................................... 31
Chapter 4: Disposal ......................................................................................... 49
Chapter 5: Other Issues.................................................................................... 63
Appendices
Appendix 1
The Regina Waste Management Bylaw No. 9935 .......................................... 69
Appendix 2
Solid Waste Legislation ................................................................................... 81
Appendix 3
Regina Round Table on Solid Waste Management ......................................... 85
Appendix 4
Financial Impacts of Round Table Implementation ........................................ 93
Appendix 5
Solid Waste City Survey (1997 residential data)............................................. 95
Glossary
Executive Summary
The City of Regina is preparing a solid waste management plan to meet the needs of the
community over the next twenty years. The plan will serve as a guide for the City, as it
prepares detailed operations and regulations governing solid waste management.
Solid waste management covers many areas, ranging from garbage collection to
environmental protection. This plan outlines the City’s current solid waste practices. It
recommends policy for future direction in City services, advocacy and regulation as
outlined in the following areas.
Residential Collection
The City provides residential garbage collection to 52,000 homes, about 76% of the
total. The service is funded through property taxes. The remaining 17,000 homes,
consisting primarily of high density multi-family dwellings, pay for their garbage to be
removed by private companies and the City of Regina.
The average home in Regina generates about 19 kilograms (42 pounds) of garbage
each week. This amounts to 51,000 tonnes annually.
About one-third of the garbage at the landfill is generated from the residential sector.
Yearly city garbage collection costs about $38.00 per household. The total cost of
residential waste, including garbage collection, landfill disposal and waste minimization,
is $74.00 per year.
It is recommended that the City maintain its current level of garbage collection to
Standard Residential and Low Density Condominium homes subject to accessibility. It
is further recommended that the City maintain a depot based collection system for
recycling household waste paper.
Commercial Collection (Industrial, Commercial and
Institutional)
The City of Regina provides commercial waste collection to about 363 organizations
and businesses on a cost-recovery basis. Customers include high-density housing
development not eligible for residential collection services, small businesses in the
community, City-run facilities, senior citizens’ and special care housing.
i
The 3,700 tonnes collected by the City from these customers account for about 4% of
the garbage from this sector.
It is recommended that the City continue to provide commercial waste collection on a
cost recovery basis to select generators but allow most ICI4 waste to be managed
competitively by the private sector.
Waste Minimization (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle)
The City of Regina operates a number of recycling programs to encourage residents to
reduce the amount of waste that ends up at the landfill. The programs include Big Blue
Bin Paper Recycling, Paint It Recycled, Tinsel Mulch, and Backyard Composting.
About 27% of residential waste consists of paper, 21% yard waste, and 26% is food
waste.
It is estimated an average household in Regina diverts 180 kilograms (15%) of potential
waste through recycling and reuse. Regina households that use private curb collection
for recycled materials divert an average of 230 kilograms (19%).
The City’s paper recycling depot processed 9,700 tonnes of waste paper in 1997.
A 1996 study found about 28% of Reginas residents’ compost. About 80% of
respondents said they make use of the City’s Big Blue Bin Recycling Program.
About 80% of the City’s solid waste residential budget is spent on collection and
disposal, while 19% is spent on waste diversion programs.
It is recommended that the City maintain current programs in residential waste
minimization and moderately expand waste minimization initiatives in advocacy and
non-residential waste.
Solid Waste Disposal
The City of Regina landfill on Fleet Street has been in operation since 1961. It is the
only solid waste landfill in the Regina region. It is estimated that the landfill will be able
to handle waste for another 12 to 13 years. Although the landfill meets existing
environmental standards, enhanced environmental protection may be warranted.
The landfill receives about 420,000 tonnes of material each year.
4
ii
Refer to Glossary at document.
About 23% of the material taken to the landfill is recovered and recycled by the City.
Another 36% is soil material from excavations. About 38% of the total waste is
garbage.
Each year approximately 160,000 tonnes of garbage is buried at the landfill, while about
95,000 tonnes of concrete and asphalt are recycled at the landfill.
Closure of the current landfill will cost $31 million over 30 to 40 years.
Estimates for construction of a new landfill range from $10 million to $45 million.
It is recommended that the City ensure environmental protection and use the existing
landfill for as long as possible. Furthermore, it is recommended that the City plan for
closure of the current site and prepare for a new landfill.
Other Issues
Special, biomedical and hazardous waste present technical, administrative and legislative
challenges to public health and environmental degradation. They are mostly outside of
strict municipal responsibility and require cooperation and partnerships between
municipal government, senior governments and industry.
Non-residential waste generators, comprised of about 5,000 businesses, generate
almost 2/3 of the garbage accepted at the landfill. Increased regulation of this sector
may be necessary to ensure proper control of garbage storage and transport, and to
encourage waste reduction and recycling.
It is recommended that the City work with senior governments and industry to ensure
that special, biomedical and hazardous waste as well as waste generated by the nonresidential sector be properly controlled through disposal and minimization.
iii
Visision Statement
The City of Regina operate a solid waste management system using services, advocacy and
regulation to protect the natural environment and to achieve safety and convenience for the
citizens of Regina.
Guiding Principles
The Solid Waste Management Plan:
• Shall establish corporate policy for a minimum of 20 years.
• Shall address the appropriate corporate service levels and effectiveness of program
delivery.
• Shall address the appropriate corporate position on protection of the natural
environment.
• Shall accomplish goals efficiently within economic constraints.
• Shall recognize that sustainability is a clear objective of solid waste management and
shall use the best practices to achieve it.
• Shall incorporate the relevant elements of sustainable development into its policy.
• Shall provide appropriate leadership and regulation to industrial, commercial, and
institutional (ICI) waste generators and the private waste management industry.
• Shall deal with special, medical and hazardous wastes.
• Should share and assign appropriate responsibility for solid waste management with
generators.
• Should be flexible and adaptable to accommodate ongoing community, corporate and
legislative changes.
• Should establish policy direction that can result in specific planning, design and
implementation of services, advocacy and regulation.
v
Introduction
Solid Waste Management is a significant duty and business of the City of Regina. It is a
corporate responsibility and activity that affects the whole community. It involves the
provision of specific, personal services to most city residents (through waste1 collection and
recovery) as well as indirect services to the whole community (through waste disposal2 and
recovery). It is part of the “hard services” (such as water/sewer, streets, and traffic) which
allows a large urban community to exist and function efficiently. Without proper Solid Waste
Management high-density human populations are afflicted with disease, and sight and odour
aesthetic offensiveness. Furthermore, the way that Solid Waste Management is defined and
provided has a real impact on quality of life in the community through the convenience (or
inconvenience) that results from the services provided and regulations applied. Finally,
within the last generation Solid Waste Management has come to be seen as an important
factor in broader environmental issues with respect to human impacts on the natural
environment and the need for those impacts to be understood, measured and controlled.
GENERATION
STORAGE
COLLECTION
TRANSPORT
RECOVERY
DISPOSAL
The basic components of solid waste
management are simple. Waste Generation
occurs in all human endeavors. Decisions made
by people determine the types and amounts of
unwanted or superfluous materials created as
waste. Generator3 attitudes and actions with
respect to reduction and reuse significantly
influence the amount of material which
becomes waste for further handling and
processing.
At the point of Storage the unwanted goods
and materials have become waste to the
generator and require an external management
process. The generator is preparing the waste
for someone else to deal with.
Collection is where ownership of waste is transferred from the generator to another party.
This is usually a local government for household waste and a private business for industrial,
commercial and institutional (ICI) waste. This is the last point of contact the generator has
with the waste that he generated.
Transport is moving the waste to its final destination, either Disposal or Recovery.
1
2
3
Refer to Glossary at document end.
Refer to Glossary at document end.
Refer to Glossary at document end.
1
Recovery is processes such as recycling and composting that accept waste as a feedstock
material for the creation of new goods and materials or energy.
Disposal is burial of waste in a sanitary landfill for degradation and perpetual storage.
There are three goals for effective Solid Waste Management:
• Providing Public Health and Safety
• Protection of the Natural Environment
• Provision of Services and Controls to facilitate community life
Public Health and Safety
The primary objective for Solid Waste Management is to ensure that the public health and
safety needs of the community are met. Over the last century there has been a dramatic rise
in urbanization, heightened complexity of societies, and a large increase in scientific
knowledge. Because of these things solid waste management, like water and sewage
management, has become a critical element for community well-being. Protection of public
health is achieved by controlling and removing unwanted materials so that diseases cannot
multiply and spread. While garbage5 (unlike sewage) does not generally support or foster
pathogenic organisms it does provide near ideal conditions for vectors of disease. Insects,
rodents and birds can thrive in uncontrolled waste and increase the likelihood of disease
spread. There is also a significant risk to public health from poisons in the waste stream.
Harmful chemicals are widely used in common household activities such as cleaning,
gardening, home and automobile care, and hobbies. Often unused or time-expired products
become waste. Finally, there are physical risks posed by waste, which results from broken
or malfunctioning products. Punctures and cuts may result from broken glass and blades,
and electrical shock from malfunctioning appliances.
Protection of the Natural Environment
Over the last 40 years the notion of pollution and waste management has changed quite
significantly. Recognition of environmental protection developed outside of the previously
narrow concept of public health and safety. The publication of The Silent Spring in 1962
by Rachel Carson was considered to be the first major popular work to identify the
capability of human activity not only to alter nature but also irreparably damage it. The
environmental movement grew out of concern that the actions of humans had become the
dominant influence on the health and well-being of the planet. The environmentalist’s
position defines an intrinsic value in nature that is beyond the notion of nature benefiting
humanity. Loss of habitat and species was identified as a potential result of pollution. More
recently global warming and climate change (mostly related to energy consumption) are
considered another effect of pollution.
5
2
Refer to Glossary at document end.
Services
The final goal of Solid Waste Management may in fact be the most important for people in
their day-to-day lives. The creation of unwanted materials and discards is a characteristic
and natural part of human society. As societies develop and become larger and richer the
consumption of goods and services increases. The perceived value and convenience of “fast
food” restaurants and cheap “dollar store” items are good examples of consumer mentality.
In fact, the success of a community or society is largely measured by expansion, growth and
increased consumption which, consequently, results in increased amounts of “stuff” that is
superfluous and unwanted. Current modern society expects to enjoy the benefits of
expanding economies and growth, where growth is really measured by the ability to
consume more goods and services. Through precedent and practice there is a history and
an expectation that when something is used up and/or is out of fashion it can be easily and
efficiently be disposed of; primarily through the actions of local government.
For most of the history of Regina, solid waste management has functioned in a reactive
manner. It has provided practical responses to community needs and wishes. In recent times
as our community has changed and become more complex the City of Regina has made
changes to specific programs and services in solid waste management to reflect some of the
new realities. A Solid Waste Management Plan is now needed to clearly establish corporate
policy and set the framework for ongoing activities and future developments in this important
and changing area. The report is structured along existing corporate lines using the following
four main topic areas:
Residential Collection
City collection is the specific activity of providing a service of waste removal for
residents. It is the largest and most important service that is done from the perspective
of public health, community aesthetics, impacts on residents and monies spent. Some
key issues relating to Collection are:
• Fairness of service. Establishing who gets city collection6 service.
• Extent of service. Defining the appropriate level of service and the value in delivering
it.
6
Refer to Glossary at document end.
3
Commercial Contracts
Historically, the City of Regina has operated a Commercial Contracts business to
provide limited waste hauling services to the ICI sector. The ICI sector is by far the
largest generator of waste in the community. Most ICI waste is handled by private
waste businesses for commercial gain. Some key issues relating to Commercial
Contracts are:
• Whether the City of Regina should provide a commercial service.
• If so, defining the type and extent of service offered.
Minimization
Waste minimization has become a key element of solid waste management. The
rationale for minimization is primarily related to recognition that human activities have
impacts on the natural environment. Protection of air, water and land is not only fair and
responsible to the natural order, it is necessary to protect the future of humanity as a
species on the planet. Some key issues of Minimization are:
• Assessment of the appropriate level, commitment to and effort on waste minimization
beyond the requirements of legal compliance for waste management.
• Reduce7 and Reuse9 as elements of solid waste management are problematic in that
they attempt to achieve broad lifestyle/values changes to society but do not provide
real services. Also, they are not controllable and are expensive.
• The Recycle8 element of solid waste management provides real services that are
measurable and controllable, but are very expensive.
Disposal
Disposal is burial of garbage in a landfill. It is technically the most complex element of
solid waste management and the primary location where environmental degradation can
occur. The landfill services public and private entities both within and outside of Regina.
It is open to individuals, businesses and other governmental entities thereby providing de
facto regional disposal services to a large area around the city. Some key issues of
Disposal are:
• Pollution from the current landfill.
• Long term requirements for landfill disposal.
7
8
9
Refer to Glossary at document end.
Refer to Glossary at document end.
Refer to Glossary at document end.
4
Other
There are a number of other elements that warrant special discussion. Many issues are
interrelated and have technical, legal or social aspects that require specific considerations.
Some key other issues are:
•
•
•
•
•
Special, biomedical and hazardous wastes.
Regulation of private sector service in solid waste management.
Funding of solid waste activities.
Regional waste management.
Comparison of Regina with other cities.
The report on Solid Waste Management is a strategic planning tool. It provides information
on current requirements, principles and practices in Regina to benchmark solid waste
management corporate activities. It discusses issues and presents options for future solid
waste management. Finally, it establishes written policy that can be integrated into corporate
Solid waste management activities for service and regulation.
Since the purpose of this report is to establish a long range Solid Waste Management Plan it
is necessary to define and use quantifiable and compatible elements of measurement. A
glossary of terminology is included with important words and phrases specifically defined. A
set of Guiding Principles has been developed. The general approach to the task will be
consistent with current corporate practices and will use four base criteria for defining goals
and establishing a plan. The four criteria are:
•
•
•
•
Economy
Efficiency
Effectiveness
Environment
The Solid Waste Management Plan will meet the needs and desires of our community in
practical and achievable ways. It will do so within social, environmental and financial
constraints. It will be a guiding document for the Administration to plan detailed operations
and regulations for solid waste management in Regina for the next 20 years.
5
Chapter 1:
Residential Collection
Chapter 1: Residential Collection
Collection of solid waste from residences is the most costly and visible part of municipal
solid waste management. Residential solid waste collection is the transition of responsibility
for waste from the generator to a waste management system. This is done with a
combination of regulations, to control on-site storage and packaging of waste, and services,
to collect and remove the waste. The purpose of residential collection is to ensure that
public health and safety is maintained at the point of generation, and to provide effective and
efficient means for the removal of waste. There are about 70,000 homes10 in Regina. Figure
1.1 shows the distribution of collection services provided to these homes. City collection
furnishes residential garbage collection to about 52,000 homes (76% of the total). This
service is provided for no charge as part of general City services that are funded by
property taxes. The remaining 17,000 homes (24% of the total) receive a private service
which requires payment for waste removal. This chapter will describe current City collection
practices and identify issues of service delivery. The collection of non-garbage residential
waste (e.g. recyclable materials) will also be discussed in this section.
Figure 1.1
Residential Waste Collection
Private Collection
18%
City Commercial
6%
City Collection
76%
10
Refer to Glossary at document end.
9
Current City Collection Practices
City collection is the primary waste management contact between the City of Regina and its
residents. It is what people experience and think of as their tax dollars at work. City
collection is a standardized service provided equally to all eligible recipients. It is funded
from general revenues through the annual budget process and is the most expensive part of
waste management being about 50% of the total corporate waste management cost. The
Regina Waste Management Bylaw No. 9935, attached as Appendix 1, defines the nature
and extent of City collection services. It also establishes the regulations that generators
must adhere to. Bylaw No. 993511 stipulates that city collection is provided to individual
properties where the amount of garbage produced per collection period is at or below a
defined limit. Where the garbage generated by a property exceeds the defined limit city
collection is not provided. For those properties private collection is usually utilized.
Generally, a Standard Residential home12 is eligible for City collection. High-density and
multi-home properties such as apartment buildings and condominiums are not currently
eligible for City collection.
City collection is based on the premise that fair and equitable service is provided to achieve
a high level of generator satisfaction at the lowest cost. To address public health and
neighborhood aesthetics it is also important to provide the service on a regular basis. The
average frequency of collection is about once per week. This is the minimum acceptable
cycle length in the summer when heat and the presence of organisms and animals create a
public health and aesthetic concern. Winter collection is also maintained on a weekly cycle
to maintain service to generators and optimize use of collection personnel and equipment.
Since the mid-1980’s two different types of City collection operations have evolved.
Where back alley access to a home exists, automated collection is used. Those residential
neighborhoods without back alleys are mostly serviced by manual collection. A small
proportion of homes in these neighbourhoods receive automated collection with individual
roll-out containers. Each system has unique features and requirements for service.
11
12
Refer to Glossary at document end.
Refer to Glossary at document end.
10
Figure 1.2 summarizes the significant elements of the two collection systems. The manual
collection system generally requires more effort and knowledge from generators than the
automated one. Even though these differences exist between the systems, on balance they
provide an excellent quality or service that is fair and equitable to recipients.
Figure 1.2
Residential Collection
Automated
Manual
Volume limit is 600 litres/home
Volume limit is 750 litres/home
Average collection frequency is
50 times/year
Average collection frequency is
47 times/year
Garbage storage is in City container between
collections
Garbage storage is on generator property
between collections
Generator can put garbage in a City container
at any time
Generator must put garbage out at curb within
narrow time limits
Average garbage production is
26 kilograms/week/generator
Average garbage production is
18 kilograms/week/generator
Bylaw restrictions on garbage type and
preparation. Low level of enforcement due to
garbage commingling in containers and machine
collection.
Bylaw restriction on garbage type and
preparation. High level of enforcement due to
individual generator setouts and human
judgement in collection.
Manual Collection
Manual City collection is provided to 22,000
suburban homes in Regina as shown on
Figure 1.3. On a regularly scheduled cycle,
garbage is collected from the edge of a property13
about once a week. Generators are required to
conform to rules about storage, packaging, and
placement of garbage for the maintenance of
clean and sanitary neighborhoods, and to facilitate
a high level of efficiency and low cost of this City
collection service. This service uses a City
employee to pick up garbage and transfer it into
the garbage truck thereby allowing for
enforcement of the rules and restrictions in Bylaw
No. 9935. If too much garbage is put out, if an unacceptable type of garbage is put out, or
if the garbage is improperly prepared it may be left by the collector. Generators using the
manual collection system are very knowledgeable about the rules and use the system
properly. There are about 1.0 million visits made per year by manual collection crews to
homes. On only 2,000 of those visits (0.2%) is garbage left because of a rule infraction. On
13
Refer to Glossary at document end.
11
many of those occasions the Solid
Waste Foreman contacts the
generator to provide educational
information about the problem and
take the garbage. Public
acceptance with this system is
extremely high as only 200
complaints (0.02% of the total visits
in a year) are received by City
Central. The average amount of
garbage produced per property is
18 kilograms/week and the pick-up
cost is about $0.90 per visit.
Figure 1.3
Manual Collection
Big Blue Bin Locations
Auto Areas
Manual Areas
Automated Collection
Automated city collection is provided to 31,000
homes in mostly older, central neighborhoods of Regina. The area of service is shown on
Figure 1.3.
This system is primarily used for back alley
collection and provides large containers that
are shared by a number of homes.
Generators with this system have the same
bylaw requirements as the generators with the
manual system. However, it is not possible to
enforce Bylaw No. 9935 in the automated
collection system for two reasons. First, this
service uses robotics instead of a person to
empty waste from the container into the
garbage truck and the garbage cannot be
inspected in the collection process. Second,
the containers are shared between a number
of homes and assigning responsibility for
improper waste to a specific generator would
be impossible. Generators use the back alley containers very effectively. Garbage is
packaged where practical. For example, kitchen waste tends to be bagged and grass
clippings tends to be put in loose. Generators will often put anything that fits into a
container. Large, bulky or heavy items are often discarded in the containers. This use of the
system does not present serious concerns for the collection operation itself. There are about
12
1.5 million visits made per year by automated collection crews to homes. On only 200 of
those visits (0.01%) are rule infractions identified. This is indicative of the inability to
monitor and enforce the rules with this collection system. Public acceptance with this
system is extremely high. There are about 2,000 calls (0.1% of the total visits in a year)
received by City Central per year. These are mostly requests for maintenance, painting and
cleaning of the containers and for additional collection because of full containers. The
average amount of garbage produced by a property serviced by automated collection is 26
kilograms/week. However, the superior efficiency of the system actually results in a lower
pick-up cost of about $0.75 per visit. In essence, the automated collection system takes
more garbage from generators than the manual system, and it does so at a lower cost. It is
important to comment on the winter operation of the automated collection system. The
garbage loading is significantly lower in the winter than the summer, except for a six-week
period around Christmas. Back alley containers are generally less full and consideration has
been given to reducing the frequency of collection from weekly to bi-weekly. Upon
investigation however it was found that bi-weekly collection was impractical and of minimal
economic benefit. Because it is highly mechanized, the speed of robotics in automated
collection is reduced by cold winter weather. Furthermore, driving conditions are more
difficult and frozen garbage does not compact as well in the trucks resulting in slower truck
movements, lighter loads and more frequent trips to the landfill. These factors, which also
apply to manual collection, combine to slow down the collection process. In fact, city
collection relies on a reduced winter garbage loading to offset the extra difficulties
associated with the season. One final benefit of automated collection is the observation that
since implementation in 1985 there has been a significant improvement in property and
neighborhood aesthetics in many of the back alley areas. This is attributed to the increased
ease and service that the container system offers to residents. Scavenging is also mostly
controlled within the containers.
Bulky Waste Collection
The Regina Waste Management Bylaw No. 9935 prohibits use of the city collection
systems for large and bulky wastes such as furniture, major appliances and household
construction/demolition waste. None of this material is collected by manual collection. As
mentioned previously the back-alley containers used in automated collection do receive a
significant amount of large and heavy garbage that is prohibited by Bylaw No. 9935. Also,
many Regina residents have access to trucks and haul bulky garbage directly to the landfill.
The Solid Waste Division has participated in a neighborhood cleanup initiative with the
Bylaw Enforcement Division of the Community Services Department for a number of
years. This initiative provides residents of inner-city neighborhoods the opportunity to clean
back alleys and abandoned properties periodically and is very successful and cost
effective. There is not currently a need to develop an enhanced program for bulky waste
collection.
13
General Housing Collection Practices
A summary of housing type and service delivery is shown on Figure 1.4. The City collection
systems (City Automated and City Manual) have historically serviced Standard
Residential14 housing. They are specifically designed to operate at the interface between
private property, where the garbage is generated, and public roadways, which afford
predictable access for collection equipment. Likewise, Apartments have historically not
received city collection because they represent a business for the owner and as high density
housing are not compatible with normal city collection operations. Condominium housing
has appeared during the past fifteen years as an alternative form of home ownership. Any
structure type of housing (single family, multi-family, high density, stacked, et cetera) can be
constructed as a condominium. It is also possible to convert existing housing types such as
apartment buildings to condominiums. The property definition and volume limitations in the
current Bylaw No. 9935 exclude virtually all condominium properties from city collection.
That is because a single condominium property includes many homes and they generate
garbage amounts exceeding the property allowable limit. As shown on Figure 1.4 most
Low Density Condominiums14 (1,172 units in 49 properties) are provided with city
collection.
Figure 1.4
Service Delivery by Housing Type
Collection Type
Standard
Residential
Condominiums
Low Density
High Density
Apartments
Totals
City Automated
City Manual
City Commercial
Private
30,786
20,107
0
0
214
958
0
150
0
0
421
3,901
0
0
4,034
8,531
31,000
21,065
4,455
12,582
TOTALS
50,893
1,322
4,322
12,565
69,102
The principle applied has been that if it looks like a house and functions like a house, then it
is treated like Standard Residential housing and provided with normal city collection
services. Notwithstanding this principle, there are significant difficulties encountered in
providing city collection to many Low Density Condominium properties. The problems
14
Refer to Glossary at document end.
14
stem from accessibility to the properties because condominium developments are not
necessarily required to meet City of Regina subdivision standards. The City collections
systems have been specifically developed to work within the subdivision standards. Private
roadway designs (structures, widths, turning radii, et cetera) and security gates are
examples of condominium property features that may be incompatible with city collection.
High Density Condominiums15 are those developments that have stacked or vertical
ownership of homes and high unit counts per property. Currently the 4,322 units in 70
properties that make up this group are not afforded city collection because of their
incompatibility with City collection systems. They must obtain garbage removal from
commercial waste haulers.
Options for Residential Garbage Collection
Some change is necessary to create a fair and consistent approach to residential
condominiums. There are two practical options. One is to maintain the intent of current
practice by providing City collection to individually owned, low density homes. This is
mostly traditional subdivision developed homes but increasingly includes condominiumdeveloped homes. The second option is to expand corporate responsibility to provide City
collection to all individually assessed homes. This would include all homes except those in
apartment buildings.
Maintain Current Practice
Maintaining the current practice would result in a City collection service provided to
standard residential properties (e.g. single-family homes in traditional subdivisions) and
some condominiums (based on accessibility). The intent is that service would be
provided if a home looks like a house, is taxed as a residential property, and is
accessible to city collection. Existing city collection currently does service most Low
Density Condominiums as well as traditional Standard Residential housing. However,
condominiums are technically not eligible for city collection based on the property
definition and volume limits in Bylaw No. 9935. Amending Bylaw No. 9935 to
generally establish eligibility for residential condominiums (as defined by the City
Assessor) and to limit City collection to those properties that are accessible to normal
City collection service would correct the problem. There are a relatively small number
of Low Density Condominiums currently receiving city collection that would be
“grandfathered” through a bylaw amendment, as they would still not conform to the
new rules. The financial impact of this option is minimal. Housing growth in the
Standard Residential and Low Density Condominium areas would be absorbed by
normal growth of the City collection systems. With this approach in place new Low
Density Condominium developments that do not meet accessibility requirements will be
ineligible for City collection.
15
Refer to Glossary at document end.
15
Maintaining the current practice would continue to exclude Apartments and High
Density Condominiums from city collection on the basis of garbage volumes and
accessibility.
Expand Corporate Responsibility to All Individually Assessed
Homes
This option would expand city collection to include all individually taxed homes in
Regina. The result would be the addition of all condominium homes to current city
collection responsibility. The effect would be an increase of 8.6% (4,472) in the number
of homes serviced by city collection. City collection would include all housing except
apartments. This course of action would treat all individually assessed homes equally by
providing garbage removal service at no cost. The specifics of actual service delivery
would likely not change much and the city collection service provided to the additional
High Density Condominium properties would likely be tendered to private sector waste
hauling businesses with the resources and expertise to provide the required service. The
financial impact of this option would be significant. Adding the service cost of 4,472
homes to existing city collection expenditures would result in an operating budget
increase of between $125,000 and $175,000 per year. This includes the net cost of
garbage collection and disposal at the landfill16.
Current Recycling Collection Operation
The City of Regina started the Big
Blue Bin residential paper-recycling
program in 1990. The program
utilizes depot-based collection for the
voluntary recovery of residential
paper. The 12 depots, shown on
Figure 1.3, are situated in high traffic
locations such as shopping and
recreation centers with easy
automobile access. The depots are
available to all 69,000 residences in
Regina. Public health and neighborhood litter is not a concern with this service due to the
nature of material and the way it is handled. The specialized containers and hauling
equipment are not part of normal corporate activities so this operation is contracted to a
private waste hauler through competitive tender. This material collection system places extra
responsibility on generators by requiring them to segregate paper products from garbage,
store them separately and transport them to one of the depots. Public acceptance is very
high both in terms of participation and proper use. About 10% of household waste is
16
Refer to Glossary at document end.
16
recovered and there is relatively little garbage or other unacceptable material put into
the Big Blue Bins. Continual improvement in the Big Blue Bin system will address
operational issues such as cost and convenience. The only options for recycle material
collection would be to expand the types of waste collected and/or to improve the
service by changing from a depot system to an individual home collection system.
Changes to the type of waste collected such as the addition of glass, plastic or
compostables is discussed in the Minimization chapter. Increasing service by changing
from a depot system to an individual home collection system would increase costs.
Current expenditures for depot collection are $3.60 per home per year. A residential
collection system for recyclable waste would cost at least $20.00 per home per year.
The overall impact would be an operating budget increase of at least $850,000 per
year. The success of the current depot collection process indicates that the public is
willing to provide the extra effort in transport, and that the large extra cost for enhanced
residential service is not warranted.
Recommended Policy
It is recommended that the City of Regina:
• maintain City collection service to all current recipients. This would include
Standard Residential housing and Low Density Condominium housing.
• amend Bylaw No. 9935 to provide for City collection to Standard Residential and
Low Density Condominium homes subject to accessibility.
• maintain the Big Blue Bin depot based collection system for the recovery of waste
household paper.
17
Chapter 2:
Commercial Collection
Chapter 2: Commercial Collection
Commercial Contracts
Waste generated by the ICI sector of the community accounts for the majority of the
160,000 tonnes of waste delivered to the landfill for disposal every year.
Figure 2.1 shows the sources of waste delivered to the landfill for disposal. The ICI
sector produces 61% or 97,000 tonnes of total waste disposed of in the landfill. The
City of Regina Commercial Waste Section collects 3,700 tonnes of ICI waste which is
3.8% of that waste stream and only 2% of the total waste stream. It provides collection
and hauling service to 363 customers.
The majority of ICI waste, 93,300 tonnes, (which is 59% of the total waste stream) is
mostly handled by two private commercial waste hauling businesses. Lorras Disposal
Services Limited and Canadian Waste Service Inc. provide waste removal to nearly all
of the 4,200 commercial and industrial businesses in Regina. They also service many
institutional customers such as the government of Saskatchewan and crown
corporations. Small amounts of ICI waste are self hauled by generators or hauled by
construction/demolition companies.
Fig 2.1
Waste Disposal at Landfill
Small Vehicles
6%
City Commercial
2%
City Residential
33%
Private Commercial
59%
21
Legislatively, waste hauling is addressed by two pieces of provincial legislation. The
Municipal Refuse Management Regulations of The Environmental Management and
Protection Act require a municipality to provide a system for the collection of solid waste
within the municipality. The Urban Municipality Act, 1984 (UMA) empowers a
municipality to provide those services in any way it chooses. Furthermore, the UMA
recognizes a wide array of tools for municipalities to use in achieving waste removal
including direct service, contract service and regulation of waste generators for self or
private service. The UMA also establishes the authority for municipalities to engage in
commercial undertakings.
There are a variety of approaches to provide waste collection in cities in North America. In
most instances local governments ensure that residential waste removal occurs through
either direct or contract service and leave non-residential ICI waste hauling mostly to the
private sector. On the prairie provinces there are many different methods used by
communities. Some cities, such as Winnipeg and Edmonton, provide virtually no
commercial waste hauling services. They choose to leave business waste management to
the competitive private market. Other cities, such as Regina and Saskatoon, operate
relatively small commercial waste sections on a cost recovery basis. Calgary is more
aggressive in commercial waste hauling and uses it as both a mechanism to influence the
local marketplace for optimal competition and as a source of non-tax revenue. Finally, there
are variations in approach which are particular to the history and governmental practice of
communities. The City of Red Deer maintains control over all waste generation, both
residential and ICI. It requires all ICI waste generators to contract with itself and provides
service through an operations contract it enters into with a private waste hauler. This wide
variety shows that there is no standard approach and that each city must determine what
the goals are for ICI waste management and establish appropriate services and regulations
to achieve those goals.
As noted earlier, ICI generation accounts for most of the waste produced in Regina. The
need for municipal regulation to achieve environmental, public health and other community
goals is addressed in other parts of this report.
City of Regina Commercial Waste Section
The Commercial Waste Section operates a modest business using automated and manual
collection processes similar to those used in residential waste collection. One manual rear
load truck (two-person crew) is operated during a day shift from Monday to Friday. An
automated side load truck (one-person crew) works during an afternoon shift three days a
week. Support staff within the Solid Waste Division does administration of commercial
contracts.
22
During the past five years a number of changes have been made to this operation:
• In the early 1990’s significant problems were discovered with the accuracy of
contracts. A thorough review was undertaken and both the process of contracting
and the management of contracts were improved.
• Services were offered to the City of Regina and now the commercial waste section
does most corporate waste hauling.
• There has been a significant shift in the nature of service delivery with many
contracts converting from manual to automated collection. It is expected that this
shift would continue, as automated service is less costly than manual.
• The fee schedule has been adjusted to more accurately reflect the cost of providing
service. The most recent fee change (December 1998) removed a subsidy that
previously had reduced fees below the cost of service.
Clients of the Commercial Waste Section are grouped into four categories shown on
Figure 2.2.
The largest number of clients is in the Housing category with 206 contracts. This
represents high-density housing developments that are not eligible for residential waste
services. These are mostly apartments and, to a lesser extent, condominium
developments.
The second largest category is Business
with 93 contracts. These are long time
customers and represent a wide variety of
small businesses in the community. New
business contracts are no longer accepted
because of the inability of the section to
provide proper service, and lack of policy
with respect to competing in the open
marketplace. Although the section does not
advertise or actively solicit new contracts
there have been numerous businesses that
have requested service from the commercial
waste section.
Fig 2.2
Commercial Contracts
Corporate
14%
Business
26%
Institutional
3%
Housing
57%
23
There are 52 corporate contracts where service is provided to City of Regina facilities. The
Commercial Waste Section does virtually all regular waste collection from corporate
sources. Services are provided to most corporate facilities including City Hall and other
administrative and operations centers, recreation facilities, the fire department, parks and
cemeteries, and other city-owned properties. Some of the services, such as golf courses,
are seasonal. This group of contracts is the only one where the section provides service
with roll-off containers.
The 24 Institutional contracts make up the smallest segment of Commercial Waste Section
business. This is mostly senior citizen and special care housing, and non-profit organizations.
The Commercial Waste Section also empties litter barrels in Regina’s Market Square and
collects some residential garbage in neighborhoods which are mostly commercial or
industrial. These services are funded from the general operating budget and not subsidized
by paying contracts.
Figure 2.3 shows the type and distribution of the contracts for the Commercial Waste
Section. The 363 commercial contracts are some-what distributed throughout the city with
most in the center of the city and along Albert Street north and south.
Figure 2.3
Clients of Commercial Waste Section
Commercial Auto
Commercial Manual
Roll-off Containers
24
Options
Current operation of the Commercial Waste Section is inadequate for a number of reasons:
• It lacks direction and clear policy for providing service
• It does not have sufficient resources available to properly administer contracts
• It is not equitable in that service is not currently available to anyone who requests it.
For these reasons the status quo is unacceptable and change is necessary. There are
essentially two options for the City of Regina to choose in resolving the future of the
Commercial Waste Section.
Quit Commercial Waste Business
The current operation is small and could be terminated with relatively little operating
impact. Under present accounting practices reductions to expenditure and revenue
budgets in Public Works would be offsetting. Existing permanent staff could be
reassigned and equipment either redeployed into residential waste collection or
disposed of through salvage. Releasing the 363 customers would be more problematic
because they would generally have to acquire service from an alternate waste collection
business at higher cost. It is difficult to gauge the cost impact of this as private industry
uses negotiated, confidential pricing with their customers (instead of a published fee
schedule). However, it is anticipated that market established costs would be at least
double the current fee schedule of the Commercial Waste Section. This includes 52
corporate contracts that currently pay about $40,000/year for services from the
Commercial Waste Section. There would also be reassignment of collection
responsibility for special services such as emptying litter barrels in Regina’s Market
Square and sparse residential waste collection in east central Regina that the section
now does.
25
Continue Commercial Waste Business
This option is more complex in that it requires goals and rationale. Possible reasons
to stay in commercial waste collection include:
• Providing an alternative to private waste collectors on a for-profit basis to
generate non-tax revenues for the City of Regina.
• Providing a low cost service to generators who contribute to the quality of Regina
as a community. This could include the City of Regina corporately, institutions
such as schools, libraries, clubs and housing that is ineligible for no-charge
residential service.
Aggressively pursuing a revenue generating commercial waste business option
would be risky and beyond the expertise that the City currently has in waste hauling.
Most ICI waste is best handled using techniques (such as large front loading
compactor trucks and stationary compactors) which the City is not familiar with.
Regina is a relatively small market and two private waste businesses do provide
choice to waste generators. Furthermore, significant success achieved by a City
commercial operation would cause one or both of the private waste companies to
leave Regina. For these reasons it would be inadvisable for the City of Regina to
expand the Commercial Waste Section into aggressive competition for business
throughout the community.
26
Maintaining a small Commercial Waste Section would be similar to the current
operation. It would require a slight overall growth to establish a base load of
contracts to provide full time utilization of staff and equipment. This would be
accomplished by releasing existing business contracts and adding new institutional
and other ones. Capable private service is available and it would be appropriate
corporate policy to withdraw from service to for-profit businesses and have them use
true market competition. That would effect 93 current contracts. There would be no
effect on very small businesses that are presently receiving a residential no-charge
service from the City of Regina under the terms of the current bylaw. Some overall
growth would be required to offset this loss and increase the work to a base load
condition. Institutional organizations such as of the Public and Separate School
systems could mostly provide this base load and realize cost savings to themselves.
In preliminary discussions the school board administrations have expressed an
interest in such a service. The effect of these changes on the operation of a
Commercial Waste Section would be an increase in staffing (less than one personyear) to provide proper administrative control and enhanced customer relations.
Managerial control of the Commercial Waste Section, although improved during the
past few years, is still not adequate. Operations equipment and personnel use would
increase minimally to establish the base load operation. The cost impact would be a
moderate increase in commercial rates. These are estimated to be about 10 to 15%.
This increase is associated with new administrative costs and anticipated increased
equipment costs. There would be slightly higher increases in both expenditures and
revenues due to the growth of the section. However, the section would be designed
so that revenues would offset expenditures and there would be no net effect on
corporate budgets.
Recommendation
It is recommended that the City of Regina:
• retain a Commercial Waste Section and operate to offer waste removal services at
cost recovery including all direct and indirect costs.
• offer commercial waste services based on system compatability and availability to
entities that contribute to the well being of the community, and housing that is not
eligible for City collection14.
14
Refer to Glossary at document end.
27
Chapter 3:
Waste Minimization
Chapter 3: Waste Minimization
This section defines waste generation through characterization, and describes the
initiatives taken and the level of minimization achieved by the City. Comparisons of
waste minimization will be made with other jurisdictions. Opportunities for progress will
be discussed. The Round Table on Solid Waste Management report, including
recommended policy, will be evaluated. Finally, options for change and enhancement for
programming and proposed policy will be recommended.
Waste Minimization is the newest and, arguably, the most publicly discussed element of Solid
Waste Management. It deals with issues of sustainability and protection of the natural
environment beyond the traditional functions of public health and convenience. The basic goals
of waste minimization, in decreasing order of importance, are best described by the 3R’s17:
Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.
• Reduce is the fundamental behavior change of individuals and society to create less
waste. It is the most important element of waste minimization. It deals with waste at
the point of generation; either by individuals or organizations. Effective reduction is
usually achieved through a combination of less and/or more selective consumption.
Less waste produced is less waste to manage. Unfortunately, this element is also the
most difficult for municipal government to influence in the short-term as it is a
“North American lifestyle” issue rather than a municipally provided service.
Information and education programs invested over the long-term are required to
convince current consumers, future consumers (our children) and other larger waste
generators to first think and then act differently. Waste minimization today is where
the new accepted message of Don’t Drink and Drive was twenty years ago.
• Reuse is the activity of obtaining maximum product life and best use of goods or
materials before they are discarded as waste. Again, it is the waste generator making
a conscious decision to better manage goods or materials as a resource. Municipal
government has some involvement in effecting reuse through coordinating/
facilitating the transfer of items from generators to new consumers. The common
garage sale and several social service institutions (i.e. Habitat Re-Store, Salvation
Army, Blue Mantle, et cetera) are the best examples of mechanisms for promoting
extended product life through reuse. The City can aid by promoting reuse.
• Recycle is the high profile activity the public most identifies with in terms of
sustainable development and waste minimization. Goods and materials which have
become waste are recovered as feedstock or raw material for processing into new
materials. Facilitating recycling provides municipalities with a specific opportunity
for involvement. It can promote material segregation (i.e. Big Blue Bins), provide
collection and transport of materials (Big Blue Bins) and, often, can ensure quality
17
Refer to Glossary at document end.
31
control and marketing of materials (i.e. City paper recycling plant). Recycling requires
legitimate, established markets and industries to use recovered materials. Local governments
are not generally equipped to market recycled materials in the fast-changing commodity
marketplace.
The objectives of waste minimization are distinct from the traditional objectives of public
health and citizen convenience. Higher waste minimization levels (reduce, reuse and
recycle) should lengthen the operational life of the Fleet Street Landfill life. The
municipality can educate the public on reducing and reusing waste and directly facilitate
material recovery through recycling.
Waste Characterization
Much work has been done to define and characterize solid waste. This is of
importance to the minimization component of solid waste management. Research has
indicated that waste generation in most North American cities is also quite similar.
In Regina waste generation, as measured by deliveries to the landfill, is shown on
Figure 3.1. About one-third of landfill waste comes from approximately 52,000
Regina Standard Residential and Low Density Condominium homes. The Industrial,
Commercial and Institutional (ICI) sector, which represents about 5,000 businesses
and 17,000 homes generate almost two-thirds of the waste accepted at the landfill.
The ICI sector, as a small percentage of all users, is a high generator of waste but with
a wide range of generation rates between industries. The ICI sector is primarily
serviced under contract by private waste haulers and is charged a tipping fee by the
City at the Fleet Street Landfill. This ratio is consistent with the nature of waste
generation in other cities in Canada and the United States.
32
The average household in Regina is estimated to generate 1,190 kilograms of waste per
year including yard waste. Figure 3.2 shows the distribution of residential waste as
generated. It is estimated that about 27% is clean paper and includes newspapers and
magazines, mail, bills and invoices, packaging and computer/writing paper. The 26% of
house organics are mostly food waste but also include contaminated paper and indoor plant
materials. The 21% of yard waste is generated seasonally from April through October.
Because of yard waste, the overall City collection weights increase considerably during that
period. The final category of other waste includes all other materials discarded from
households. There is rubble, plastic (6%), glass (5%), metals and household hazardous
waste18 (HHW) (1%) in this category.
Figure 3.2
Distribution of Residential Waste as
Generated
other
26%
yard w aste
21%
paper
27%
house organics
26%
A 1996 study on waste characterization (Waste Characterization Study, June 1996,
University of Regina) attempted to estimate ICI sector waste generation rates in Regina.
However, access to data from private haulers was limited and there is a wide range of
waste generation rates between different types of businesses. The 1996 study estimated
ICI waste paper at 43% with “other organics” at 24%. The study noted a wide range of
waste generation rates within the ICI sector and suggested further analysis.
The 1996 study further estimated comparative waste diversion rates by Canadian
municipalities. For 1993 it ranged between 4 to 16% of their total waste streams. It is
assumed the upper waste diversion rate has increased somewhat for municipalities
undertaking aggressive waste diversion programs. The 1996 study estimated the
Regina residential diversion rate to be about 15% and the ICI sector to be 22% of the
total waste stream. No data is available on 1999 trends.
18
Refer to Glossary at document end.
33
It is estimated an average single family dwelling household in Regina diverts 180 kg/
household/year (15% of waste) through recycling and reuse. Regina households subscribing
to private sector curbside collection services for recyclable materials are estimated to divert
an average of 230 kg or 19% of their waste stream.
The 1996 study estimated the Regina backyard composting participation rate at 28%.
However, this estimate requires verification. It is not clear if this is the average level of
citywide composting or included households that might have composted something over the
year. In addition, about 80% of the sample stated they made use of the drop-off recycling
depots, however, it is not known if this was regular or occasional use. Finally, about 20% of
the sample indicated they had participated in hazardous waste collection
programs—primarily the Paint It Recycled waste paint recycling program.
Current Residential Waste Minimization Practices
The City of Regina operates a wide range of waste minimization programs that are targeted
primarily at the residential sector. The current scope of programs and level of participation
are a function of limited staff resources. The Waste Diversion Section employs one full time
employee to manage and promote these programs targeted at the residential sector. There
also provision to hire one casual summer student to assist with minor programming and
research.
A brief description of the current waste minimization programs managed by the
Waste Diversion Coordinator position and the planned incremental improvements are
summarized below.
Big Blue Bin Program and Paper Recycling
The objective of the Big Blue Bin Program is to collect and divert used residential paper
from the landfill, to sort and process this material at the City’s paper processing plant and to
arrange for the recycling of this material. The Big Blue Bin Program makes paper recycling
a high profile initiative to Regina residents. The benefit of the program is the diversion of reuseable paper from the landfill and the recycling of paper into new paper products. Details
on the Big Blue Bin collection are also discussed in Chapter 1.
34
This successful City program is a cost-effective voluntary depot-based collection program
provided free of charge for residential users. There are 12 Big Blue Bin locations that
accepted about 5,160 tonnes of paper in 1997. A contractor carried out the collection,
transportation and tipping of the bins for the City. The paper sorting plant, operated under
contract by a non-profit organization, processed this material plus an additional 4,540
tonnes from other sources for a total of 9,700 tonnes of paper. Depressed paper prices
result in an annual operational loss in the paper processing plant. The City does not provide
a similar service for the ICI sector as a private paper recycling plant in Regina provides this
service for a fee.
Incremental improvements to the program include the review of the entire paper
collection and plant processing operation to increase access to used residential paper
and to decrease plant operation costs wherever possible.
Paint Recycling
The objective of the Paint It Recycled program is to divert this household hazardous paint
waste from the landfill and sewers of the City in an environmentally responsible manner, and
where possible, enable good paint to be re-used within the community. The program is
operated in partnership with SaskTel.
The Paint It Recycled program is the largest and most successful paint recycling program
in Saskatchewan. With an annual growth rate of 15%, it processed 20,705 litres of used
paint and 9.5 tonnes of metal paint cans in 1998. An estimated 4,300 litres of reusable paint
was re-used in the give-away portion of the program. The Waste Diversion Co-ordinator
and about 25 volunteers operate the depot. Eight special paint days are held on one
Saturday per month from April to November. In comparison, the City of Saskatoon
provides only one or two paint events per year from temporary quarters. The Regina
program has disposed of over 78,000 litres of used paint since is inception in 1993.
Incremental improvements to the program include modifications to paint processing
equipment to handle increasing volumes, an assessment of the feasibility of continued
reliance on large numbers of casual volunteers in this mature program and a public
education program to encourage more careful estimating of paint requirements when
purchasing paper.
35
Public Information and Education
The two basic objectives for the public information and education elements of waste
diversion are:
(i) inform city residents about the current waste minimization programs in operation
and to provide information upon request; and
(ii) initiate a long-term strategy to achieve generator responsibility to achieve the
hierarchy of the “3R’s.”
Specific attention must be directed to waste reduction and reuse prior to recycle.
Future increases in waste diversion rates are most likely linked to enhanced public
education.
In 1998, approximately 3.5% of the waste diversion budget was spent for waste
reduction and promotion. This consisted of a newspaper campaign, television public
service announcements, and a radio campaign. Other promotional expenditures
included the production of signs for the Big Blue Bins and public information. In
addition, the Waste Diversion Section and City Central handled about 3,500
telephone calls in 1998 regarding recycling.
Incremental improvements to public information and education include the following:
• improve the co-ordination of work with Public Affairs, creating slide
presentations of the various waste minimization programs for presentation to
interested groups.
• establishing contacts and making presentation to several schools, service clubs
and businesses including the ICI sector.
Significant improvements in public education directed towards the long-term
adoption of the 3R’s would require an increase in the percentage of funds allocated to
public information and dedication of one new information staff position in the Waste
Diversion Section.
36
Backyard Composting Program
The objective of the current backyard composting program is to encourage interested
Regina residents to compost their leaves and grass. It has the potential to reduce their
organic material by up to 50% over the summer months. Organic material occupies
unnecessary space in the landfill and can result in unwanted production of methane
gas from anaerobic (no oxygen) decomposition. Adoption of backyard composting is
progressing on an incremental basis.
This program consists of free public seminars on how to compost residential house
and yard waste, free compost19 booklets, compost classes for schools, and responding
to resident’s questions on composting. Limited staff resources restrict a more
aggressive or widespread program.
A study is currently being undertaken for the Municipal Engineering Department to
determine the feasibility and costs of operating a large scale municipal composting facility.
This study is discussed in Chapter 4.
White Metal Goods and Scrap Metal Recycling
The objective of the White Metal Goods/Scrap Metal Recycling Program is to divert the
material from the landfill, to recycle scrap metal and extract freon gas from discarded
refrigerators.
White goods (stoves, refrigerators, et cetera) and scrap metal are separated and
collected from incoming material at the Fleet Street Landfill. This program diverted
506 tonnes of material in 1998 and resulted in about $25,000 in revenue from a local
scrap metal dealer.
Incremental program improvements include monitoring of scrap metal prices to
maximize revenue potential and to consider contracting with appliance repair
businesses to promote the salvage useable parts prior to metal shredding.
Household Hazardous Waste (HHW)
In 1988, the City initiated special household hazardous collection days. With a
participation rate of only 2% and with used paint making up about 80% of
collections, a special paint recycling program was established in 1993 and the HHW
program was cut owing to budget reductions. However, the City continues a small
HHW public education program with the focus on safer household chemical
alternatives.
19
Refer to Glossary at document end.
37
Incremental improvements include the update and preparation of new general public
information fact sheets to promote proper use and disposal of household hazardous
wastes.
Oil Recycling and Scrap Tires
The provincial government now mandates the recycling of used oil and scrap tires
and the City’s involvement in managing these materials is over. Industry-run,
province-wide collection programs have been put into place to offer residents and
businesses these recycling opportunities. Incremental improvements by the City for
these provincial program includes the preparation of internal information fact sheets
for City Central to enable a better informed and direct City referral to the applicable
provincial agency.
Tinsel Mulch Program
The objective of the popular Tinsel Mulch Program is to divert natural Christmas trees
from the landfill to save landfill space, to grind and partially compost the material into a
useable soil additive and then return it free of charge to interested city residents.
It is noteworthy that this program provides a very high level of service with curbside
collection from all residential households in the city. No other city is known to
provide this level of service.
The Waste Diversion Section co-ordinates the annual collection, shredding into
mulch, composting and give-away (reuse) of approximately 15,000 Christmas trees at
a cost of about $21,000. Some delays in tree collection in early 1999 resulted from older
equipment breakdowns. All the mulch was returned to residents in 1999. The program is
very popular with gardeners in the city.
Incremental improvements to the program include the review of aging City equipment for
the upcoming years, improved composting control and minor improvements in the
temporary road system at the Tinsel Mulch give-away site.
Waste Minimization in the Regina ICI Sector
The ICI sector in Regina consists of about 5,000 businesses and institutions. Except
for a small commercial garbage collection section servicing about 7% of the market,
the City has a limited role with the ICI sector in terms of solid waste regulation or in
the field of waste minimization, waste reduction and waste recycling.
38
The business sector, comprised of retail, office, service, health and educational institutions,
generate higher volumes of paper and cardboard. The City implemented its own waste
minimization program (Garbage Reduction Zero Waste Program or the gr0w Program) in
City Hall in October 1998. The success of this initiative will be promoted to the ICI sector
as a waste minimization model.
City Hall Office Paper Recycling - The gr0w Program
The Public Works Department and the Support Services Department initiated and
implemented the gr0w Program in October 1998. Since this date the amount of garbage
collected at City Hall has declined from approximately 120 cubic yards to 60 cubic yards/
month as of May 1999. Conversely, office paper recycling doubled from 2,700 kg/month
to about 5,600 kg/month. This is a very significant improvement. The garbage collection
contract has been reviewed to reflect less garbage and measures are being undertaken to
recover some revenue from the high quality office paper.
Further gr0w Program improvements include increased recovery of cardboard and
measures to reduce paper consumption through better use of email. Several inquiries about
the City Hall gr0w Program have also been received and it is intended to monitor and use
the gr0w Program as a model for other ICI businesses to emulate.
Waste Minimization Initiatives in the Regina ICI Sector
The City is considering voluntary targets for waste reduction and recycling within the
ICI sector. This message may be promoted through various business organizations
and associations in the city. In addition, the ICI sector will be encouraged to conduct
voluntary waste audits as a means to reduce their solid waste costs.
Restrictions and prohibitions are commonly used tools in other jurisdictions for waste
minimization in the ICI sector. Further assessment of placing municipal restrictions
on specific recyclable materials (i.e. paper and cardboard) at the Fleet Street Landfill
may result in increased regulation and enforcement. This initiative would be
considered only after the effects of voluntary waste minimization measures by the ICI
sector had plateaued.
39
Round Table on Solid Waste Management
The Regina Round Table on Solid Waste Management was established by City Council in
April 1995 to provide community input into the development of a long-range solid waste
plan. The Terms of Reference for the Round Table were very broad and suggested
considering all aspects of waste generation, handling, disposal, minimization and regulation
in Regina over a twenty year time frame.
The Round Table consisted of representatives of community groups, business and
special interest groups and was chaired by an independent chairperson. The Round
Table chose to emphasize the primary role of waste minimization. It prepared a report
that considered waste management primarily in the context of diverting waste from
landfill disposal. In 1997 the Round Table submitted their report to Works and
Utilities Committee.
The Round Table produced 31 basic recommendations in the areas of waste
collection, waste diversion and waste disposal. There was also some overlap of
recommendations. The Administration has reviewed these recommendations in detail.
Seventeen of the Round Table’s 31 recommendations (55%) are already in effect as
common practice but not formally documented or are recommended for adoption as
written policy in this report. Another 12 recommendations (39%) have far-reaching
program and cost implications and require further study before making a decision.
Finally, two recommendations (6%) were rejected by the Administration as not
feasible. A discussion of the Round Table’s specific policy recommendations and
Administration comments is contained in Appendix 3.
Options for Waste Minimization
Waste minimization policy statements are grouped into three options:
40
(i)
Maintain Waste Minimization as Status Quo;
(ii)
Moderate Expansion of Waste Minimization; and
(iii)
Aggressive Expansion of Waste Minimization.
The Maintain Waste Minimization as a “status quo” option outlines policy which will attempt
to generally maintain existing programs and services within existing budget and staff levels.
Minor incremental improvements to existing programs will be undertaken on an opportunity
basis. Some waste minimization programs may be targeted for deletion. This will be done to
match existing resources with the more critical of programs.
The Moderate Expansion of Waste Minimization option outlines policy that will
enhance existing programs and services. It will require a minimum of one additional
staff and increased operational and public education budgets. Particular attention will
be directed to the public information and education initiative. Some effort will be
directed to improve policy and research through contract work.
The Aggressive Expansion of Waste Minimization Efforts option outlines policy
which will enhance and expand existing programs and services, increase and sustain a
long-term public information and education and more fully develop policy and
research. Additional permanent staff and increased budgets would be required for
program management, public information, policy and research and future regulatory
control.
Potential policy statements grouped within each of the three options are listed as
follows:
Option 1: Maintain Waste Minimization as Status Quo
The City of Regina:
• maintain its current level of funding and activity in the voluntary depot-based
residential paper recovery program known as the Big Blue Bin Program.
• maintain its current level of funding and activity in the diversion and recycling of
used paint products under the Paint It Recycled Program.
• maintain its current level of funding and activity for the Tinsel Mulch Program which
diverts evergreen trees from the landfill.
• maintain its current level of funding and activity regarding public information and
education regarding the 3R’s: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.
• maintain its current level of funding and activity regarding residential backyard
composting.
41
• maintain its current level of activity regarding the recycling of scrap metal including the
White Metal Goods Program.
• maintain its current level of funding and activity regarding general information for alternate
substances in place of Household Hazardous Wastes (HHW) Program.
• monitor and promotes the Garbage Reduction and Zero Waste (gr0w) Program as a
model for paper recycling in the Institutional, Commercial and Industrial (ICI) sector of
the city.
Option 2: Moderate Expansion of Waste Minimization Efforts
The City of Regina:
• maintain its current level of funding and activity in the voluntary depot-based
residential paper recovery program known as the Big Blue Bin Program.
• moderately enhance the level of funding and activity in the diversion and recycling
of used paint products.
• enhance the level of funding and activity for the Tinsel Mulch Program which diverts
discarded Christmas trees from the landfill.
• place a high priority on enhanced funding, staffing and activity for public
information and education regarding the 3R’s: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.
• moderately enhance its funding and activity regarding residential backyard
composting.
• consider the implementation of a large scale municipal composting facility for organic
waste from the residential and ICI sectors of the local economy.
• maintain its current level of activity regarding the recycling of scrap metal
including White Metal Goods Program.
• maintain its current level of funding and activity regarding general information for
alternate substances in place of the Household Hazardous Wastes (HHW) Program.
• monitor and strongly promote the Garbage Reduction and Zero Waste (gr0w)
Program as a model for paper recycling in the Institutional, Commercial and Industrial
(ICI) sector of the city.
42
• strongly promote voluntary waste minimization initiatives in the Regina ICI sector as a
means to reduce and divert recyclable materials from the landfill.
• study the Round Table recommendation that the City should implement a residential wet/
dry yard waste program, a periodic bulky collection system and a residential Pay as You
Throw Program—to determine feasibility, cost implications and to prepare a report.
• study the Round Table recommendation that the City should introduce an ICI sector
wet/dry waste collection system—to determine feasibility, cost implications and to prepare
a report.
• adopt the Round Table policy recommendation that the City should promote the
development of a construction material reuse/exchange facility.
• study the Round Table recommendation that the City should implement disposal
bans or a tipping fee surcharge on materials where reuse and recycling options are
available—to determine feasibility, cost implications and prepare a report.
• study the Round Table recommendation that the City should apply a limit of two
bags of wet waste per household per week with charges for excess bags in
conjunction with a proposed wet/dry yard waste program—to determine feasibility, cost
implications and to prepare a report.
• study the Round Table recommendation that the City should develop and estimate
the cost of a comprehensive and sustained public information campaign—to determine
feasibility, cost implications and prepare a report.
• study the Round Table recommendation that the City should assume full
responsibility for ensuring all aspects of recycling are done in the community.
• adopt the Round Table recommendation to promote the inclusion of source
reduction as part of the Kindergarten to Grade 12 curriculum in Regina.
• adopt the Round Table recommendation to promote waste reduction in the ICI
sector through education, information, competitions, voluntary waste audits and
waste management plans.
• study the Round Table recommendation that the City should require all new
businesses to submit a waste management plan at the appropriate time, as part of the
building or business permit process—to determine feasibility, cost implications and to
prepare a report.
43
• adopt the Round Table recommendation that the City should lead by example, should
establish an internal waste minimization program, should establish waste minimization
targets, should assign sufficient resources with appropriate authority and should
periodically publicize City progress to the community.
• adopt the Round Table recommendation that the City should encourage the federal
and provincial governments to implement product stewardship legislation and
regulations for durable and hazardous goods.
Option 3: Aggressive Expansion of Waste Minimization Efforts
The City of Regina:
• moderately enhance its current level of funding and activity in the voluntary depotbased residential paper recovery program known as the Big Blue Bin Program.
• significantly enhance level of funding and activity in the diversion and recycling of
used paint products under the Paint It Recycled Program.
• enhance level of funding and activity for the Tinsel Mulch Program which diverts
discarded Christmas trees from the landfill.
• place a high priority on its level of funding, staffing and activity regarding public
information and education regarding the 3R’s: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.
• significantly enhance its funding and activity regarding residential backyard
composting and study the feasibility of introducing a subsidized city-wide purchase
program for backyard compost bins.
• consider the implementation of a large scale municipal composting facility for organic
waste from the residential and ICI sectors of the local economy.
• expand its current level of activity regarding the re-use and recycling of scrap metal
including White Metal Goods Program.
• significantly expand funding and activity regarding general information for
alternate substances in place of the Household Hazardous Wastes (HHW) Program and
study the feasibility of re-instituting special HHW waste collection days for residential
household hazardous waste.
44
• monitor and strongly promote the Garbage Reduction and Zero Waste (gr0w)
Program as a model for paper recycling in the Institutional, Commercial and Industrial
(ICI) sector of the city.
• strongly promote voluntary waste minimization initiatives in the Regina ICI sector
as a means to reduce and divert recyclable materials from the landfill.
• study the Round Table recommendation that the City should implement a
residential wet/dry yard waste program, a periodic bulky collection system and a
residential Pay as You Throw Program—to determine feasibility, cost implications and to
prepare a report.
• study the Round Table recommendation that the City should introduce an ICI sector
wet/dry waste collection system—to determine feasibility, cost implications and to
prepare a report.
• adopt the Round Table policy recommendation that the City should promote the
development of a construction material reuse/exchange facility.
• study the Round Table recommendation that the City should implement disposal
bans or a tipping fee surcharge on materials where reuse and recycling options are
available—to determine feasibility, cost implications and prepare a report.
• study the Round Table recommendation that the City should apply a limit of two
bags of wet waste per household per week with charges for excess bags in
conjunction with a proposed wet/dry yard waste program—to determine feasibility, cost
implications and to prepare a report.
• study the Round Table recommendation that the City should develop and estimate
the cost of a comprehensive and sustained public information campaign—to determine
feasibility, cost implications and prepare a report.
• adopt the Round Table recommendation that the City should assume full
responsibility for ensuring all aspects of recycling are done in the community.
• study the Round Table recommendation that the City should conduct a
comprehensive assessment of each potential recyclable material and the decision to
proceed with recycling the material should be based on the environmental, social
and economic impacts—to determine feasibility, cost implications and prepare a report.
• adopt the Round Table recommendation to promote the inclusion of source
reduction as part of the Kindergarten to Grade 12 curriculum in Regina.
45
• study the Round Table recommendation that the City should require all new businesses to
submit a waste management plan at the appropriate time, as part of the building or
business permit process—to determine feasibility, cost implications and to prepare a
report.
• adopt the Round Table recommendation that the City should lead by example,
should establish an internal waste minimization program, should establish waste
minimization targets, should assign sufficient resources with appropriate authority
and should periodically publicize City progress to the community.
• adopt the Round Table recommendation that the City should work through the Regina
Regional Economic Development Authority, the government of Saskatchewan and other
resources to identify methods and means of expanding markets and business opportunities
with the community to support the recycling process to the fullest.
• adopt the Round Table recommendation that the City should encourage the federal
and provincial governments to implement product stewardship legislation and
regulations for durable and hazardous goods.
Recommended Policy for Waste Minimization
It is recommended that the City of Regina:
• adopt moderate expansion of waste minimization in the areas of advocacy and
non-residential waste as outlined in Option 2.
46
Chapter 4:
Solid Waste Disposal
Chapter 4: Solid Waste Disposal
Solid Waste Disposal is the final activity applied to unrecoverable waste. The purpose of
solid waste disposal is to ensure public health and safety, and protection of the natural
environment from wastes produced as a result of human activities. In this section solid
waste disposal specifically refers to burial in the Sanitary Landfill. This section will
consider how the landfill operates, the current and potential environmental (pollution)
impacts of the landfill, and service issues. The section will also consider final closure of
the current landfill and alternatives for long term solid waste disposal.
Current Landfill Operation
The Fleet Street Landfill located in the northeast part of the city is the only available
municipal solid waste landfill in the Regina region. Disposal began there in 1961 and
has continued without interruption up to the present time. The site occupies
97 hectares, which is completely fenced and secured for waste management purposes.
The disposal operation uses waste material placement, compaction and cover
processes to build a hill of garbage. The actual disposal hill covers 60 hectares of the
landfill property. This site is classified as a sanitary landfill and is subject to the
Municipal Refuse Management Regulations of the Province of Saskatchewan. The
regulations require the City of Regina to provide a waste disposal ground for the
disposal of garbage generated within the municipality, and that a permit be issued for
the waste disposal ground. The regulations are also somewhat prescriptive in
identifying materials that are acceptable and unacceptable for disposal, technical
details required for landfill development, and detail requirements for daily operations.
The Saskatchewan Department of Public Health issued Permit No. 277 for operation
of the landfill on February 22, 1979. The permit allows for the landfill method of
waste disposal, prohibits burning, requires contaminated surface water controls, and
requires an ongoing leachate20 and ground water monitoring program. Saskatchewan
Environment and Resource Management (SERM) periodically inspect the landfill and
confirms that it does comply with the requirements of the permit and regulations.
20
Refer to Glossary at document end.
49
Figure 4.1
The landfill receives about
Landfill Deliveries
420,000 tonnes of material every
Process Cont. Soil
year. The types of material accepted
3%
at the landfill are shown in Figure 4.1.
Chargeable Disposal
25%
Most material (62%) is not garbage.
Process dirt (36%) is soil materials
Process Dirt
from excavations that are reused at
36%
the landfill as cover in the process of
burying garbage. A small amount of
contaminated soil (3%) is delivered to
City Garbage
the landfill for decontamination. Once
11%
neutralized, it is used as process dirt.
Small Vehicles
A large amount of recovered material
2%
(23%) is is recycled at the landfill. This
Recovered Materials
is concrete and asphalt generated by City
23%
of Regina and private business construction
and demolition. Garbage disposed of in the
landfill accounts for 38% of the total material received. Chargeable disposal garbage (25%)
is generated by the ICI sector of the community. City garbage (11%) is brought by the City
collection systems and represents most of the household garbage in Regina. Small vehicle
garbage (2%) is deliveries made by cars and small trucks and represents residential bulky
waste and small businesses generation.
Control
Landfill control is the process of measuring
and monitoring materials delivered to the
landfill. A perimeter fence around the landfill
property ensures complete site security.
Security gates and the scale house are used
to control and measure waste delivered to
the landfill during business hours. Deliveries
are not made without acceptance and
recording. The scale house uses advanced
computer technology to create a record and
complete all transactions for billing and
management purposes. The attendant is the
“customer contact” between the landfill and
users (residents, businesses and corporate).
50
The specific activity of control is to register the transaction, including all pertinent
information about materials and hauler, and provide instructions and information to the
customer. The landfill offers a very high level of service with respect to private customers. It
is open for almost 4,000 hours per year (mostly in the summer months) and provides good
opportunity for private parties to make deliveries in the evening and on weekends. This is
most important to residents who make periodic visits to the landfill with waste from their
homes and yards. Figure 4.2 shows the number of visits made to the landfill in a year by
customer type. There are a total of 120,000 transactions in a year. Half of the transactions
are Small Vehicles (typically 1/2 ton truck or cars with utility trailers) which are residents
bringing small amounts of waste from their own properties for disposal. The next largest
category of customer is Chargeable Disposal which represents businesses involved in waste
hauling. There are two waste hauling companies that handle most private waste hauling in
Regina. The City Collection category is the vehicle visits by residential garbage trucks.
Process Contaminated Soil, Process Dirt and Recovered Materials are transactions that
deliver non-waste materials to the landfill.
Figure 4.2
Vehicle Counts
Process Cont. Soil
Process Dirt
Recovered Materials
Small Vehicles
City Collection
Chargeable Disposal
0
10000
20000
30000
40000
50000
60000
51
An element of control that often has a negative impact on the general public is bylaw
enforcement. Secure load requirements for vehicles visiting the landfill were established in
the early 1980’s to address a problem of litter and garbage being strewn along the common
roadways leading to the landfill. Bylaw No. 9935 requires that all loads of waste be secured
to prevent the waste from falling out of the vehicle. City garbage trucks and large
commercial waste haulers are not effected by this requirement as the equipment is totally
enclosed or secured with professional tarping mechanisms. Those most effected by the
bylaw are casual landfill users and/or those who bring loads of waste in small vehicles. In
recent years a much higher level of compliance has been achieved and bylaw enforcement
has been changed to provide a warning and education to first time offenders before a ticket
is issued. This process is working well.
Operations
Landfill operations employ a fill and cover
process; essentially a hill is under construction.
Waste is unloaded from trucks, spread in an
even layer, compacted to increase density and
remove voids and covered with dirt. About
160,000 tonnes of garbage is buried each
year. Figure 4.3 shows the sources of that
material. There are three separate areas on the
landfill where burial activities take place. They
are the Active Face, the Rubble Area and the
Half-Ton Hill. There are also some activities
that take place on the landfill hill to treat
special wastes and recycle some waste
materials.
The Active Face receives about 122,000 tonnes of garbage. It is where all garbage from
city collection and most from private haulers is deposited. This garbage contains high
proportions of organic materials such as kitchen scraps, yard waste and general household
and business waste. It is putrescible and offensive (odour, litter) and requires the highest
level of treatment to ensure proper disposal.
52
The Rubble Area is a separate area
of the landfill used to receive about
29,000 tonnes of rubble each year.
Private haulers deliver most of this
material. This garbage is different in
that it is generally non-putrescible,
dry and relatively inoffensive. It also
tends to be harder to handle,
compact and cover. Disposing of
rubble uses a disproportionately high
amount of landfill space and cover
material.
Figure 4.3
Landfill Disposal
Small Vehicle
Garbage
6%
City Collection
Garbage
32%
Private Hauler
Garbage
62%
The third main disposal area is the Half-Ton Hill. This area receives about 10,000
tonnes of garbage per year from private residents and some small businesses that use
cars and small trucks for transport. The material is generally yard waste, rubble from
home construction projects and bulky goods that are not collected by residential
garbage crews. Although the actual amount of waste deposited in this area is relatively
small, there are challenges to the operation because of the high amount of traffic and
relatively low knowledge level of the customers who make infrequent trips to the landfill.
The landfill also operates some special disposal and waste recycling services. There is
about 15,000 tonnes of contaminated soil and asbestos delivered per year. A disposal
program records and carefully buries asbestos generated by building demolition/
renovation. As well, certain petroleum-contaminated soils are accepted and treated to
decontaminate the soil and create cover material for the landfill operation. These two
activities involve assessment and permitting by the Municipal Engineering Department
and Saskatchewan Environment and Resource Management. About 95,000 tonnes of
concrete and asphalt is recycled at the landfill per year. This is closed loop recycling
where waste materials generated by the City of Regina are processed and used in
infrastructure construction projects. Recently the Government of Saskatchewan
established biomedical waste management guidelines and a special process was
implemented to dispose of medical waste from the major institutions of the Regina
Health District.
53
Environmental Impacts
Environmental impacts of landfills means those
impacts that have a negative or deleterious
effect on air, land or water quality. The landfill
as a repository for unwanted waste materials
has the potential to release or emit chemical
agents that can cause or contribute to the
degradation of the natural environment. More
specifically, an environmental impact from the
Regina landfill refers to gaseous emissions
and/or liquid surface or subsurface releases.
To some extent all municipal landfills function
as bioreactors converting waste materials
(primarily water and cellulose) into carbon
dioxide and methane. This occurs through
natural biochemical reactions. As well,
chemicals in some waste may be released or
changed and dissolved in water forming
leachate that can be transported away from the landfill and into the natural environment;
either through surface runoff or subsurface groundwater movement. These are the impacts
that should be identified and mitigated in a proper landfill operation.
The landfill is built on native material without an engineered liner system. The landfill has no
gas management system. The landfill has been monitored since the mid 1980’s for impact on
the underlying aquifer system. More recently research has been conducted on gaseous and
leachate emissions in attempts to quantify and characterize them. There is an impact on the
water quality of the upper aquifer (Condie Aquifer). However, no impact is occurring on the
lower aquifer (Regina Aquifer) formation. The impact on the Condie Aquifer is a region of
elevated dissolved salt content. No evidence of toxic chemicals or heavy metals has been
identified. Some monitor wells within the landfill footprint show contaminants that may be
related to a former oil pit at the landfill. Recent research on gaseous emissions from the
landfill in collaboration with the University of Regina indicates that 9,000 tonnes/year
(equivalent to 189,000 tonnes of CO2) of methane and 34,000 tonnes/year of carbon
dioxide are generated. These levels are in the lower range experienced at large municipal
landfills in Canada and United States but are about the levels expected using available
models for a semi-arid climate such as ours.
54
There is currently no compliance requirement for either leachate or gaseous emissions in
Saskatchewan. It is important for the City of Regina to understand the extent of impact and
decide on appropriate mitigative actions. To that end research will continue into both
leachate and gaseous emissions.
Service
A significant element of landfill business is the service provided to customers. Landfill users
receive and expect convenience, efficiency and security when they bring garbage for
disposal. The landfill is open for more than 340 days each year. In the summer season
(April through October) it is open for 14 hours per day. The use of multiple tipping areas
enhances safety and convenience. Most ICI generators require security of disposal for
garbage that they bring to the landfill. For this reason, and concerns over safety and liability,
scavenging is generally not allowed although there is a special process available for the
removal of materials from the landfill.
Future Disposal
In April 1991, City Council directed the Administration to proceed with plans to
develop a new sanitary landfill adjacent to the existing site. A detailed Closure Plan
for the existing landfill was completed in 1993 that projected available capacity and
developed recommended capping designs. The landfill life projection was updated in
late 1998 and indicates landfill capacity exists for 12 to 13 years (to Year 2011-2012). A
plan for monitoring and potentially for mitigative measures is needed. As indicated in the
discussion on environmental impacts it is planned to conduct additional studies. These
investigations will determine the schedule for closure and development of a new landfill.
This assessment will be completed within two years.
Irrespective of closure plans for the current site, and disposal alternatives and waste
minimization initiatives that may be taken, a landfill will always be required as part
of integrated solid waste management. Development of a new landfill will require
approval by the Government of Saskatchewan. A Project Proposal for a new landfill
development was submitted to Saskatchewan Environment and Resource
Management (SERM) in 1993. Draft Project Specific Guidelines were prepared by
SERM to guide the development of the required Environmental Impact Statement.
Pending completion of evaluation of the existing landfill life extension option and the
Waste Management Strategy, development of a new landfill has been placed on hold.
It is expected that the probable timeframe to obtain approval for any new landfill is 3 to 5
years, thus requiring action to be initiated not later than about the Year 2005.
55
Financial Considerations
The Fleet Street Landfill operates financially as a “mixed service” for the City of Regina. It
provides disposal for corporate needs, including residential waste disposal and other
corporately generated waste, and, since it is the only landfill in the Regina district, it
provides disposal for community and regional waste to private customers for a fee.
Revenues obtained from private customers are dependent on both the unit charges for
disposal and the amount of garbage brought to the landfill. All private revenues are applied
to City of Regina General Operating Revenues. In 1997 the tipping fee for private haulers
to the landfill was $19.40/tonne. This generated total revenue from the landfill of $2.57
million.
Figure 4.4 shows the allocation of revenues from the tipping fee on an annualized basis.
Operation expenses are all costs associated with the daily operation of the landfill during the
fiscal year. These are budgeted annually through the Waste Management program of
Public Works. Private revenues contribute $848,000 which is about 70% of the total
operating expense. The remaining 30% is funded from the current contributions to account
for residential garbage delivered by City collection. The Landfill Reserve was created in
1992 to accumulate funding for the long-term capital needs of waste disposal. Private
revenues contribute $1,130,000 to the reserve to be used for closure of the current landfill
and development of a new disposal site. There is an undefined revenue contribution to the
City of Regina budget. The amount is $590,000 and is generally considered to substantially
fund the waste minimization activities.
Figure 4.4
Real Revenues to Landfill (1997)
Tipping Fee (external revenue)
Allocation of tipping fee
Landfill operating cost
Contribution to landfill reserve
Contribution to other City expenses (including recycling)
TOTAL
56
$19.40/tonne
$6.44/tonne
$8.42/tonne
$4.54/tonne
$19.40/tonne
In 1998 the Finance Department completed an analysis of closure and post-closure financial
liability of the landfill. The analysis concluded that there was an unfunded liability exceeding
$10,000,000 based on the plan for closure and post-closure operations of the current site.
Figure 4.5 provides details of the expenses. A total cost of about $31,000,000 will be
required to close the landfill during the next 30 to 40 years.
Figure 4.5
Landfill Closure Costs
Item
Final Capping/Drainage
Gas Management
Remediate Old Oil Pit
Capital Cost
$9,000,000
$4,000,000
$500,000
Post Closure
Operating Cost
$500,000/year
Estimates for the cost of a new landfill were last provided in the 1989 Waste Management
Study. The capital cost for development of a new landfill adjacent the existing site range
from $10,000,000 to $45,000,000 for a twenty year life landfill. The high cost and large
range is attributable to uncertainty about the level of environmental protection required to
develop a new landfill adjacent to the existing one. Further costs would be incurred for the
ultimate closure of a new landfill and include costs for capping, gas management, drainage
and monitoring similar to those expected for the existing landfill. An analysis of the financial
liability for development of a new landfill has not been done. It is anticipated that without
increased dedicated funding the development of a new landfill within the time frames
discussed will require debt financing.
A general problem with landfill finances is that they are not clearly identified from an
accounting perspective. Funding for landfill needs is a combination of public funding (taxes
from homeowners receiving City collection garbage service) and private funding (private
waste haulers who contribute ICI garbage). Private funding is only available (through the
tipping fee) when the landfill is in operation and accepting waste. A large amount of landfill
expense is for development of a site before use, and monitoring and care of the completed
landfill. During these times of high cost it is not possible to obtain private funding. Also,
within the City of Regina budget process there are activities not directly associated with the
landfill operation which are at least partly funded from the private hauler landfill-tipping fee.
For these reasons a separate financial system should be instituted for the landfill to clearly
establish all expenses (operating, closure, post-closure, new site development) required for
landfill disposal and the appropriate sources of funding to meet those expenses. This can
then be used to develop revenue strategy to determine tipping fees for private haulers and
the required corporate contribution that the City must make.
57
Disposal Alternatives
There are alternatives that can decrease landfill disposal by diverting waste materials to
other uses. Waste minimization as an approach to waste management that reduces the need
for landfill disposal is discussed elsewhere. This section will discuss two disposal alternatives
to maximize resource recovery from waste and minimize material disposed of, thereby
lengthening the life of a landfill. Two common features of these and other disposal
alternatives are:
• They still require landfill disposal for residual wastes not utilized in the process.
• They are more costly than landfill disposal in Regina.
Waste to Energy
Waste to energy utilizes sophisticated and complex technologies to burn waste and
make heat. The heat is then used to generate electricity, or for industrial process uses
or districts heating. The 1989 Waste Management Study examined the option of
energy from waste. The proportion of waste available as fuel was estimated to be 55%
of the total waste stream. A waste to energy plant would reduce the volume of this material
by about 37%. The capital cost of a plant of this size is estimated at $60,000,000 and
annual operating costs would be $60/tonne. Waste to energy is used in places where the
cost of landfilling is very high and the value of energy sold is very high. Neither of those
conditions exists in Regina. Waste to energy not viable for Regina because of high cost and
modest diversion.
Large Scale Composting
Large scale composting is the conversion of organic waste into a soil product for use
elsewhere. In many ways composting is similar to natural processes that occur within the
landfill. Organic waste is treated to imitate natural biological decomposition and create
organic fertilizer. Composting is an aerobic process and naturally produces carbon dioxide.
In 1998 a consultant was engaged by the City of Regina to carry out a study on the
potential for large scale composting in Regina. The study is nearing completion. Preliminary
findings indicate that there is sufficient organic feedstock available to support a large scale
composting operation. Two options for composting are under consideration. A smaller
composting operation that would divert 3,000 tonne/year of waste from point source
generation that is mostly City operations (sewage sludge, chips, leaf sweeping, tinsel mulch).
58
A larger composting operation would include residential yard waste to divert 24,000 tonne/
year. The smaller composting operation would require about $300,000 in capital cost and a
net annual operating cost of $65,000 per year. The larger composting operation would
require about $2,500,000 in capital cost and a net annual operating cost of $800,000 per
year. Detailed results of the study will be presented later in 1999 when it is complete.
Recommended Policy
It is recommended that the City of Regina:
• continue to use the existing landfill for as long as possible, subject to the current
technical investigation into environmental impacts.
• prepare a detailed plan for the development of a new landfill.
• operate the landfill on cost recovery basis and ensure that appropriate public and
private funding is obtained for disposal.
59
Chapter 5:
Other Issues
Chapter 5: Other Issues
There are issues of solid waste management not previously dealt with that require some
discussion.
Special, Biomedical and Hazardous Wastes
Both the residential and ICI generating sectors produce wastes that are especially
dangerous to public health and the environment. Special, biomedical and hazardous
wastes are those materials that present a toxic or infectious risk. Where these wastes
exist within the business community they are not considered to be municipal solid
waste. That is, they are regulated by senior governments and controlled by industry.
Nevertheless, there is a small amount of this material that makes its way into the
municipal waste stream and ends up at the landfill for disposal. This problem can
generally be addressed through increased education of generators and private waste
haulers, and monitoring of waste delivery to the landfill. Hazardous wastes generated
by households are more problematic. A special HHW program was discontinued in
1996 due to low recovery rates and extremely high costs. In the interest of public
health and neighborhood safety the residentially generated HHW is removed with the
garbage and securely disposed of in the landfill. Except for very focussed programs
such as Paint It Recycled the cost of HHW is prohibitive. Effective management and
control of HHW requires involvement of senior governments (both provincial and
federal) and the producing and selling industries. An example of a specific product
that has been addressed in this way is engine oil. The province of Saskatchewan
enacted legislation requiring industry (producers and sellers) to be responsible for the
management (collection, storage, transport, disposal) of waste oil. The costs of this
approach are passed on to consumers through the retail market. The City of Regina
does not have a direct role or responsibility with this waste.
Solid Waste Regulation
As noted elsewhere, most solid waste is generated by the ICI sector of the
community. The City of Regina is not generally involved with the ICI sector for
service delivery (see Chapter 2) and it does not currently have significant regulation
in place to ensure proper control of generation, storage or transport of ICI waste.
There is a need to ensure that basic public health and aesthetic goals are established
and attained. Increased regulation of ICI waste generation, storage and transport may
be necessary. As well, a large proportion of ICI waste is paper packaging that could
be recovered for other uses (reuse, recycling, and compost). A possible means of
reducing ICI waste disposal at the landfill is through the careful use of bans and
prohibitions on material like this.
63
Control of residential waste is accomplished by regulation in Bylaw No. 9935 and
enforcement is achieved through the collection activity. With the noted challenges of the
back-alley container system already identified in Chapter 1, these tools generally do achieve
the regulatory goals for residential waste management.
Funding for Solid Waste Activities
Solid waste management is financially complex. It involves expensive services
delivered to individual homes and to the community as a whole. It includes regulation
and enforcement that can be costly without apparent benefit to generators and
businesses. The magnitude and complexity of funding for landfill disposal is
discussed elsewhere. Funding issues for residential collection and waste minimization
are discussed here.
Historically City collection of garbage has been treated as a universal program and funding
has been provided from general corporate revenues (tax and non-tax) through annual
program budgeting. The benefit is that residential property tax payers receive a real service
directed regularly and specifically to them at their property line. Garbage collection (and
disposal) is the only city service of this nature funded from property taxes. The problem
with operating the garbage system as a universal program is that it does not differentiate
between generators who produce large amounts of garbage and those who do not. This
becomes a problem where generators are motivated towards waste minimization and
change their life styles (with recycling, composting and reduced consumption patterns) to
make less waste. These generators are not rewarded by the system for their personal
efforts. The most common approach for municipalities in addressing this problem is to
remove waste management from general funding and implement utilities or user pay systems.
The principle is that residential waste generation is not unlike other public utilities (water/
sewer, power, gas, et cetera) or ICI waste management. The more waste management that
a generator requires, the more they should pay for it. In Regina, there are opportunities for
residents desiring higher levels of recycling to purchase a service from a private business. As
well, bulky goods removal is often accomplished through private sector small business
entrepreneurs. The shared container back-alley operation used in automated collection is
incompatible with a true user-pay system. And, implementing a user-pay solid waste system
would require more administration at additional cost.
64
Providing high-level waste minimization services (i.e. recycling and centralized composting)
is very expensive. For example, fully implementing the recommendations of the Regina
Round Table on Solid Waste Management would require a $3,000,000 (290%) increase in
annual spending. This large amount of money is not available through existing city tax
funding. A user-pay garbage system and other funding sources would be required. It is also
noteworthy that this analysis does not include any increase in diversion from the ICI sector.
This analysis shown in Appendix 4 was based on costing information obtained from studies
conducted by Environment Canada.
Regional Waste Management
Regional waste management is the joining together of many jurisdictions to use
economies of scale to increase effectiveness and reduce cost in waste management. It
is primarily of benefit to rural areas that have small, dispersed populations and
inadequate disposal facilities. Regionalization has progressed significantly in Alberta
and most of that province has been divided into waste management districts. It is
noteworthy that the major cities of Calgary and Edmonton are considered regions
unto themselves and do not include significant rural elements in their waste
management systems. Saskatchewan and Manitoba are less well developed with
respect to formal regional waste management. Although a number of discussions are
underway between small jurisdictions, REACT is the only formal waste management
region in Saskatchewan. It includes a number of small communities and rural
municipalities in the vicinity of Humboldt. There is no practical benefit for
considering formal regionalization for Regina. The Regina landfill functions as a
regional landfill and already accepts waste from a large geographical area. Generators
from jurisdictions outside the city have the benefits of high quality, low cost disposal
without the ownership responsibility of environmental/financial liabilities and
negative public perception.
Comparisons with Other Cities
With respect to overall municipal waste management Regina compares very
favorably to other cities. The result of a survey of western Canadian cities is
presented in Appendix 5. The strength of waste management in Regina is that a
practical approach has been used to achieve relatively high levels of service at a low
cost. This is primarily attributable to the automated back alley garbage collection system. It
is also noteworthy that recycling rates are similar for all the cities surveyed even though
some of them have significantly more expensive and complex programs. This is indicative of
the practicality of Regina residents in accepting an increased level of personal effort to use a
depot based recycle material collection system that costs considerably less than an
65
individual home property line collection system (such as Blue Box). Finally, the survey
shows that the efficiency of City of Regina employees equals or exceeds services used by
other communities, including those using private contractors for collection.
Recommended Policy
It is recommended that the City of Regina:
• encourage senior governments to enact proper controls on special, biomedical and
household hazardous wastes.
• develop specific regulations for the control and minimization of ICI waste.
• maintain the current policy of providing a tax funded universal collection/
disposal service to eligible recipients.
66
Appendices
Appendix 1
Bylaw No. 9935 The Regina Waste
Management Bylaw
THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF REGINA ENACTS AS FOLLOWS:
DEFINITIONS
1.
In this Bylaw:
"Accessible" shall mean within 1.8 metres (6 feet) of the curb and preferably on the
property side of the curb and allowing ease of collection of receptacles or containers
without obstruction from such things as parked vehicles or snow windrows.
"Bundle" shall mean tied clippings of shrubs and trees.
"Collect/Collection" shall mean to pick up and/or empty for removal from a
Property.
"Collection Day" shall mean the day designated by the City Manager or Designate
for collection of waste from a Property.
"Container" shall mean a container supplied by the City of Regina for the disposal
of waste.
"Designate" shall mean any Employee delegated to act on behalf of the City
Manager.
"Dangerous Object" shall mean an object or material which presents a health or
safety risk to a Person such as broken glass, fluorescent tube, or sharp edged tin can.
"Dust Particles" shall mean fine dust-like material such as cold ashes, sawdust, and
vacuum cleaner waste.
"Dwelling" shall mean a building or part of a building that is used as a permanent
residence.
"Employee" shall mean a person employed by the City of Regina.
"Lawful User" shall mean a person entitled to utilize designated City waste
services.
69
70
(5)
No person other than a lawful user thereof or an authorized employee shall
open any waste receptacle or container or remove waste put out for
collection.
(6)
Dust particles, grass clippings, and animal waste must be bagged and the
bags tied.
(7)
Potentially dangerous objects shall not be mixed with other waste and shall
be placed in a separate receptacle and marked as to its contents.
(8)
No person shall place automobile parts, batteries, building materials, fences,
gates or similar fixtures, dead animals or parts of dead animals, concrete,
grease, hazardous substances, inflammable substances, large furniture,
unbagged grass clippings, major appliances, oil, propane tanks, paint, sod,
soil, dirt, tires or any item over 0.9 metres (3 feet) in length in a container or
receptacle for waste collection. If the person fails to remove any items listed
herein when given notice by the City Manager or Designate, the City
Manager or Designate may remove the items at the persons expense.
Manual Waste Collection
3.
(1)
Waste shall be drained of free liquid before it is placed in a water-tight
receptacle. Receptacles containing liquid will not be collected.
(2)
Receptacles not conforming to the standards set out under this bylaw will
not be collected.
(3)
Receptacles which have deteriorated to an extent where emptying becomes
hazardous or difficult will not be collected.
71
72
(3)
The occupant shall:
(a)
deposit waste for collection in the container;
(b)
keep the container on the property and not exposed to public view
until after 6:00 p.m. the day preceding a collection day.
(c)
before 7:30 a.m. on collection days, place the container at the curb
adjoining the property;
(d)
Prior to 12:01 am of the day following a collection day, shall remove
the container and any uncollected waste from the curb and store
them on the property where they are not exposed to public view.
8.
No person shall damage or deface any container for curb or alley collection.
9.
No person shall place waste beside or on top of a container.
10.
Clippings from shrubs and trees placed in containers shall not exceed 0.9 metres in
length. Clippings exceeding 0.9 metres in length will not be collected.
Commercial Waste Collection
11.
(1)
Where the quantity of waste put out for collection from any property
exceeds 8 receptacles or one (1) cubic yard in any collection period the
owner may enter into a Contract for Commercial Waste Collection with the
City of Regina for collection of waste, at a rate as set out by Council in
accordance with subsection (2).
(2)
Rates charged for collection under such contracts shall be as set out in
Schedule "B" - Commercial Waste Collection Rates, attached hereto, which
may be amended by resolution of Council from time to time.
(3)
Where any person contracting for service fails to pay the charges incurred
under the Contract for Commercial Waste Collection, any charges which
remain unpaid in the year following which they became payable may be
added to and form part of the taxes on the land in respect of which the
collection, removal or disposal was done.
(4)
The person contracting for service shall supply and at all times keep
supplied and maintained in good order and condition such number of
receptacles as determined by the City Manager or Designate to contain the
entire accumulation of waste originating from the property for the period
between collections. Every receptacle shall be of material, design and
construction approved by the City Manager or Designate. (#10098, s. 1,
1999)
73
74
(4)
No person shall operate a vehicle, including any trailer, at the Landfill or in
transit to the Landfill, loaded with waste unless the waste is secured to
prevent it from falling out of the vehicle by completely enclosing the waste
inside the vehicle, or in sealed bags, covering by a tarpaulin or similar
covering or fastening with ropes or cords.
(5)
A person may deliver acceptable waste to the Landfill for disposal by the
City. All deliveries of waste shall be measured and recorded. A charge as
set out in Schedule "A" attached hereto, which may be amended by
resolution of Council, will be made for every vehicle so entering the
Landfill. These charges may not apply to a City vehicle or employee or
Contractor of the City while engaged on City Business.
(6)
No person shall deliver to the Landfill hazardous goods, oil, liquid waste, or
other such waste which is unacceptable for disposal in a municipal waste
disposal ground as defined by The Environmental Management and
Protection Act and any regulations made pursuant thereto.
(7)
No person shall remove waste or any material from the Landfill without the
written consent of the City Manager or Designate.
(8)
City employees shall have the right to enter the Landfill for the purpose of
performing the duties assigned to them.
(9)
No person shall burn any waste or other material on the Landfill without
written permission from the City Manager or Designate.
PENALTIES
75
76
READ A FIRST TIME THIS 6TH DAY OF OCTOBER A.D., 1997
READ A SECOND TIME THIS 6TH DAY OF OCTOBER A.D., 1997
READ A THIRD TIME AND PASSED THIS 6TH DAY OF OCTOBER A.D., 1997
(SGD.) D.R. ARCHER
Mayor
(SGD.) R.M. MARKEWICH
City Clerk
(SEAL)
CERTIFIED A TRUE COPY
____________________________
City Clerk
77
78
SCHEDULE "B”
Item
Service Call (per visit)
Collection and Disposal
(per cubic yard)
1.Manual Collection Fee
$4.45
$1.83
1.Automated Collection Fee
$3.85
$1.59
(#10063, s. 1, 1998)
79
Appendix 2
Solid Waste Legislation
Solid waste legislation is important because it is the starting point for achieving proper solid
waste management. Compliance with governing laws, both external and internal, is mandatory.
Solid Waste Management is addressed by legislation from all levels of government. The most
significant legislation pertaining to municipal waste management is provincial and municipal.
Current legislation generally deals with public health issues in solid waste management.
Federal Legislation
The Federal Government plays a relatively minor part in municipal solid waste management.
The only federal legislation addressing solid waste management is The Canadian
Environmental Protection Act (CEPA)
This legislation is designed to ensure a minimum level of environmental quality across
Canada and deals with such matters as toxic substances, nutrients and federal undertakings.
It does not deal specifically with non-hazardous municipal solid waste.
Provincial Legislation
The Government of Saskatchewan has primary legislative responsibility for solid waste
management. Major legislation governing solid waste management is:
• The Environmental Management and Protection Act, and The Municipal Refuse
Management Regulations
• The Urban Municipalities Act, 1983
The Environmental Management and Protection Act
This act chiefly addresses mining, hazardous industrial wastes and water pollution control
(sewage works and waterworks). Under Section 38(1) (w.1) of the EMPA the Province
may make regulations:
“respecting the collection, treatment, disposal, recycling, recovery, reuse and reduction in
the use or prescribed products.”
81
This section would be applicable to municipal programs or services. However, no
regulations have yet been passed under this authority that directly effect municipal
government operations.
The Municipal Refuse Management Regulations
These regulations direct solid waste management in Saskatchewan. The regulations
define solid wastes and assign responsibility for solid waste control to municipalities.
The essence of municipal responsibility is established in clause 3(1) of the
regulations:
“The council of every municipality other than a rural municipality or a northern
settlement shall provide:
(a) a scavenging system for the collection and disposal of refuse within the municipality;
and
(b) a waste disposal ground for the disposal of refuse mentioned in clause (a).”
The regulations also prescribe certain requirements for the waste disposal ground with
respect to permitting, design, construction and operations.
The Urban Municipalities Act, 1983 (UMA)
Under section 141(1) of the UMA a municipal Council:
“may, by bylaw, provide for the collection, removal or disposal of solid wastes
and other refuse.”
This section expands on the rights of municipalities to achieve solid waste
management through:
•
•
•
•
defining and classifying wastes
establishing management systems and charges
compelling and/or requiring use of systems
regulating waste management
There is other provincial legislation which has a minor impact on solid waste
management.
• The Ozone Depleting Substances Control Act
• The Environmental Assessment Act
• The Litter Control Act
82
Municipal Legislation
The City of Regina has enacted a number of bylaws that address solid waste
management. The Regina Waste Management Bylaw No. 9935 was enacted in 1997 to
modernize and update municipal legislation specifically governing services provided
in waste collection (residential and commercial) and landfill disposal. The bylaw is
reflective of actual services provided by the City of Regina. It delineates eligibility
and defines service levels as well as requirements for the no-charge residential waste
collection system. It describes the basis for commercial contract waste collection and
defines commercial waste collection rates (fees). It establishes the location of the
municipal landfill, proscribes access to and use of the landfill, and defines landfill
fees.
Other municipal bylaws that effect solid waste management are:
• The Landfill Reserve Bylaw No. 9479
• The Clean Property Bylaw No. 9881
• The Zoning Bylaw No. 9250
83
Appendix 3
Policy Recommendations from the Regina
Round Table on Solid Waste Management
The Regina Round Table on Solid Waste Management proposed a wide range of policy
recommendations and specific program directions. These were primarily focussed on the
maximizing waste minimization. The Round Table recommendations and/or a paraphrase
of the recommendations are presented in italic and bold form below.
The Administration has reviewed these recommendations and for the most part agrees
with them. Several recommendations have large social, environmental or financial
implications and it is necessary to study these in more detail before making a decision.
Recommended Waste Collection Policy
It is recommended the City study the Round Table recommendation that the City should
implement a residential wet/dry yard waste program, a periodic bulky collection
system and a residential Pay as You Throw Program—to determine feasibility, cost
implications and to prepare a report.
It is recommended the City study the Round Table recommendation that the City should
introduce an ICI sector wet/dry waste collection system—to determine feasibility, cost
implications and to prepare a report.
Comment:
About 95 percent of the ICI sector is serviced by private waste
haulers and a change to the system would require a high degree of
cooperation and coordination including additional permanent
staffing. City regulation of the ICI sector is currently limited to
regulating vehicle weight and tipping fee charges at the land fill.
It is recommended the City study the Round Table recommendation that the City
should construct a combined multi-million dollar centralized material recovery
facility and a centralized composting facility—to determine feasibility, cost
implications and to prepare a report.
Comment:
The large cost implications and major shifts in waste diversion
require serious study and consideration before making any
decision.
85
It is recommended the City adopt the Round Table policy recommendation that the City
should promote the development of a construction material reuse/exchange facility.
Comment:
The Waste Diversion Section is currently working with the Regina
Homebuilders’ Association and the new Regina Habitat for
Humanity “Re-Store” facility is already undertaking this function.
It is recommended the City study the Round Table recommendation that the City should
implement disposal bans or a tipping fee surcharge on materials where reuse and
recycling options are available—to determine feasibility, cost implications and prepare a
report.
It is recommended the City study the Round Table recommendation that the City should
apply a limit of two bags of wet waste per household per week with charges for
excess bags in conjunction with a proposed wet/dry/yard waste program—to
determine feasibility, cost implications and to prepare a report.
It is recommended the City adopt the Round Table recommendation that the City should
utilize an equitable public tendering process to ensure that all services are
delivered in the most environmentally and economically sound mode.
Comment:
This is currently corporate policy. Where applicable, all external
contracts are currently tendered publicly. This would include the Big
Blue Bin Program, the recycling of paper for the City Hall gr0w
Program, disposal of used paint from the Paint It Recycled Program
and the Tinsel Mulch Program.
It is recommended the City adopt the Round Table recommendation that the City should
discontinue subsidizing commercial service to non-residential waste clients.
Comment:
The Regina Waste Management Bylaw No. 9935 was amended in
December 1998 to implement this recommended policy.
It is recommended the City adopt the Round Table recommendation that the City should
review Bylaw No. 9935 with a view to providing more consistent and equitable
condominium waste collections service.
Comment:
86
Specific discussion and recommended policy statement is
contained in Chapter 1.
It is recommended the City study the Round Table recommendation that the City should
develop and estimate the cost of a comprehensive and sustained public information
campaign on waste minimization—to determine feasibility, cost implications and prepare
a report.
Comment:
The most effective approach to waste minimization is through Reduce
and Reuse. Public education is intended to cause societal change and
have generators accept a higher personal level of responsibility for the
type and amount of waste they produce.
Recommended Waste Minimization Policy
It is recommended the City adopt the Round Table recommendation that the City should
assume full responsibility for ensuring all aspects of recycling are done in the
community.
Comment:
Within municipal jurisdiction, the City will make every effort to
encourage feasible recycling is done within the community. Many
recycling initiatives are by the private sector and function only
when there is an economic benefit to do so.
It is recommended the City study the Round Table recommendation that the City should
conduct a comprehensive assessment of each potential recyclable material and the
decision to proceed with recycling the material should be based on the
environmental, social and economic impacts—and to determine feasibility, cost
implications and prepare a report.
Comment:
A comprehensive assessment of every type of recyclable material
will require additional staff resources and/or funding for a private
consultant. In addition, the private recycling sector may be the best
group to undertake the assessment and the fact that some materials
are not recycled may already be based on lack of market,
transportation costs to market or low value of some materials.
It is recommended the City reject the Round Table recommendation that the City should
designate that all revenues from recycling operations be used to support reduction,
reuse and recycling activities in Regina.
87
Comment:
The recommendation is contrary to current City policy and is not
financially feasible. With the exception of approximately $25,000 in
revenue generated from the White Metal Goods and Scrap Metal
Recycling Program in 1998, all other waste minimization programs
operate at either breakeven or are financially subsidised. Further, any
revenues, under current City policy, are directed to General Revenue.
It is recommended the City formally adopt the Round Table recommendation to expand
the existing educational promotion back yard composting.
Comment:
Current staff resources will limit the expansion to incremental
improvements in current program delivery. A major expansion to
the program would require additional staff.
It is recommended the City adopt the Round Table recommendation to promote the
inclusion of source reduction as part of the Kindergarten to Grade 12 curriculum
in Regina.
Comment:
Educating the next generation of consumers is recognized as one
of the most important elements in promoting waste reduction and
reuse. Although control of the curriculum is beyond the
jurisdiction of the City, plans are underway to convene a small
working group of interested teachers and waste reduction
businesses to consider preparation of resource material for Regina
schools.
It is recommended the City adopt the Round Table recommendation to promote waste
reduction in the ICI sector through education, information, competitions,
voluntary waste audits and waste management plans.
88
Comment 1:
To dramatically increase the level of waste reduction in the ICI
sector it may require specific regulation and staff to monitor and
enforce the regulations.
Comment 2:
Specific ICI sectors and specific businesses would require study to
determine what incentives and regulations might be required
should the City wish to pursue a more aggressive waste
minimization direction.
It is recommended the City study the Round Table recommendation that the City should
require all new businesses to submit a waste management plan at the appropriate
time, as part of the building or business permit process—to determine feasibility, cost
implications and to prepare a report.
Comment 1:
The merits of the recommended policy are good, however, such a
policy would require the consultation and coordination of several
City departments and divisions. In addition, the business sector
also requires consultation.
Comment 2:
Current staff resources within Public Works are not sufficient to
effect the study or implement and maintain any subsequent
regulations.
It is recommended the City reject the Round Table recommendation that the City should
judge recycling and other waste minimization measures on their own
environmental, social and economic merits and not as a means to support other
human service or charitable objectives.
Comment:
With the exception of a small revenue from the White Metal Goods
and Scrap Metal Recycling Program, all other waste minimization
programs operate at either breakeven or are financially subsidised.
Therefore, the City also considers the value of social and charitable
work in several of its subsidised recycling programs.
It is recommended the City adopt the Round Table recommendation that the City should
lead by example, should establish an internal waste minimization program, should
establish waste minimization targets, should assign sufficient resources with
appropriate authority and should periodically publicize City progress to the
community.
Comment:
The City already “leads by example” through its new gr0w Program
and the recycling of asphalt and concrete at the landfill. However,
significant progress on the establishment corporate wide waste
minimization targets and programs is beyond the resources or authority
of the current waste minimization staff position.
89
It is recommended the City adopt the Round Table recommendation that the City should
work through the Regina Regional Economic Development Authority, the
government of Saskatchewan and other resources to identify methods and means
of expanding markets and business opportunities with the community to support
the recycling process to the fullest.
Comment:
The governments of Canada and Saskatchewan are the key players
in this initiative, especially if the principle of product stewardship
were to be adopted.
It is recommended the City adopt the Round Table recommendation that the City should
encourage the federal and provincial governments to implement product
stewardship legislation and regulations for durable and hazardous goods.
Recommended Waste Disposal Policy
It is recommended the City adopt the Round Table recommendation that the City should
review socio-economic and cost factors and apply the “Dillon” report or
comparable site selection criteria in the selection of a new landfill site.
Comment: This item has been completed.
It is recommended the City study the Round Table recommendation that the City should
re-apply the criteria from the “Dillon” study for the ten short-listed sites as they
presently exist and prepare a report when appropriate.
Comment:
Any further study related to landfill site location or relocation is
the responsibility of the Municipal Engineering Department.
It is recommended the City study the Round Table recommendation that the City should
eliminate the adjacent site as a location for a new landfill and prepare a report when
appropriate.
Comment:
90
City Council has instructed the Administration to proceed with the
development of a new landfill adjacent to the existing one. While
the proposed location for the new landfill over the aquifer is not
ideal, to date ongoing study and monitoring has not determined
that impacts from the current site require action. The establishment
of a new landfill site will meet environmental requirements.
It is recommended the City study the Round Table recommendation that the City should
immediately begin the process of closing the present landfill and preparing a new
site in the shortest feasible time for operation at the earliest possible date.
Comment:
Specific discussion and recommended policy statement is
contained in Chapter 4.
It is recommended the City adopt the Round Table recommendation that the City should
undertake a full and complete public participation effort with all interested parties
well ahead of the time a site decision is made.
It is recommended the City adopt the Round Table recommendation that the City should
maintain the current regional benefits of the landfill until such time that
economies of scale, administrative efficiencies and the environment would benefit
from a formal agreement.
Comment:
This is current city practice and there are no plans for change.
It is recommended the City study the Round Table recommendation that the City should
evaluate the environmental standards of municipalities outside Saskatchewan
which are higher than those set by the Province to determine feasibility, cost
implications and to prepare a report.
Comment:
The operation of the Fleet Street Landfill meets all current
provincial regulations. Should provincial regulations change, the
City would undertake steps to conform. Where directly applicable,
the City will evaluate landfill standards from other jurisdictions.
It is recommended the City adopt the Round Table recommendation that the City should
implement controls to minimize disposal of hazardous and bio-medical wastes at
the landfill.
Comment:
Controls are already in place at the Fleet Street Landfill for
disposal of bio-medical wastes and disposal of hazardous
materials. In addition, contaminated soil and asbestos are also
controlled at the landfill. Further, the Paint It Recycled Program and
provincial programs for used oil and scrap tires are pro-active
examples of hazardous material diversion from the Fleet Street
Landfill.
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It is recommended the City adopt the Round Table recommendation that the City
should include in any new landfill site selection criterion that there must be no
adverse effects from incidental disposal of hazardous materials at the site.
It is recommended the City adopt the Round Table recommendation that the City
should adopt full cost accounting for the entire waste management system
reflecting actual rather than imputed costs to determine feasibility, cost
implications and to prepare a report.
Comment:
92
Solid waste management is expensive and financially complex.
It is necessary to understand all cost (both public and private)
in accounting for and appropriately funding waste management
activities.
Appendix 4
Financial Impacts of Round Table
Implementation
SOLID WASTE
EXPENSES
$ per
tonne
REGINA 1997
Expense
($)
ENVIRONMENT CANADA
$ per
Expense
tonne
Tonnes
($)
$ per
tonne
1,953,680.00
233,819.00
0
0
55,006.00
2,242,505.00
47.00
101.00
73.00
47.00
2,400,055.00
521,160.00
0
0
55,006.00
2,976,221.00
47.00
101.00
73.00
47.00
176,904
1,139,344.00
297,491.89
6.73
0.58
176,904
1,190,563.92
297,491.89
6.73
176,904
1,436,835.89
176,904
1,488,055.81
5,160
5,160
334,549.00
60,000.00
5,160
5,160
314,760.00
159,960.00
5,160
509,058.00
5,160
474,720.00
Tonnes
ROUND TABLE
% of
Total
Tonnes
Expense
($)
Collection
Garbage
Recycle
Compost
Incineration
Community
Annual Subtotal
38.26
45.31
51,065
5,160
56,225
51,065
5,160
56,225
28,112.5
15,743
12,370
50
28
22
56,225
100
1,321,287.00
1,590,043.00
902,973.50
0
55,006.00
3,869,310.00
Landfill
Operations/Mtce
Annual Capital
Cost
Annual Perpetual
Care
Annual Subtotal
6.44
153,951.5
1,036,093.60
297,491.89
153,951.5
1,333,585.48
15,743
15,743
960,323.00
488,033.00
15,743
1,448,356.00
12,370
12,370
259,759.50
420,563.00
12,370
680,322.50
0.45
Material Recovery Facility
Operations/Mtce.
Annual Capital
Cost
Other 4R (Admin
and Special
Waste)
Annual Subtotal
64.84
11.63
61.00
31.00
61.00
31.00
114,509.00
Centralized Compost
Operations/Mtce.
Annual Capital
Cost
Annual Subtotal
Annual Total
Expenditures
21.00
34.00
4,188,398.89
21.00
34.00
4,938,996.81
7,331,573.98
NOTES
Environment Canada information from “Perspectives on Solid Waste Management in Canada,” March 1996
Numbers in bold are actual values, other numbers are estimated
Commercial waste and Accidents/Claims not included
Average capital expenses are included in Regina 1997 (297,491.89 and 60,000)
Revenue for compost estimated by City of Regina
93
REGINA 1997
SOLID WASTE REVENUES
$ per
tonne
Revenue
($)
Tonnes
$ per
tonne
ROUND TABLE
Revenue
Tonnes
($)
Collection
Garbage
Recycle
Compost
Incineration
Community
Annual Subtotal
51,065
5,160
28,112.5
15,743
12,370
56,225
56,225
Landfill
Tipping
Recycle (white goods, etc.)
Other
Annual Subtotal
14.06
60.00
176,903
400.6
177,303.6
2,487,680.00
24,036.00
1,245.00
2,512,961.00
16.16
60.00
153,950.5
400.6
154,351.1
2,487,680.00
24,036.00
1,245.00
2,512,961.00
Material Recovery Facility
Paper sales, processing, etc.
Paint exchange
Miscellaneous Revenues
Annual Subtotal
5,160
5,160
15,743
7,164.00
50,628.30
57,792.30
7,164.00
15,743
7,164.00
12,370
123,695.00
123,695.00
Centralized Compost
Sales, Processing, etc.
Annual Subtotal
Annual Total Revenues
10.00
2,570,753.30
2,643,820.00
CITY OF REGINA CORPORATE FINANCIAL BALANCE
Regina 1997
94
Round Table
Annual Total Expenditures
4,188,399.00
7,331,574.00
Change
175%
Annual Total Revenues
City of Regina Funding
2,570,753.00
1,617,646.00
2,643,820.00
4,687,765.00
290%
Annual Total Income
4,188,399.00
7,331,574.00
Appendix 5
Solid Waste Survey (1997 Residential Data)
GENERAL INFORMATION
Regina
Population
Saskatoon
Edmonton
Winnipeg
Thunder Bay
185,000
205,000
624,000
640,000
113,000
Single Family Households
(SFHH)
Low Density Households (LDHH)
49,765
43,769
135,000
148,000
36,500
2,450
8,747
30,000
22,000
1,500
High Density Households (HDDD)
16,887
30,826
80,000
91,000
4,000
Total Households
69,102
83,342
24,5000
261,000
42,000
Dwelling Density (People/HH)
2.7
2.5
2.5
2.7
Winnipeg
Thunder Bay
2.5
UNIT COSTS IN $/TONNE
Regina
Saskatoon
Edmonton
Collection
Municipal
29.17-53.44
26.05-129.05
45.00
33.00-59.00
61.28
Contract
0
0
39.00
15.00-31.00
0
Recycle (curb)
0
0
180.00
109.00
0
Recycle (depot)
43.75
36.05
270.00
194.00
130.62
Compost (curb)
n/a
n/a
n/a
48.00
n/a
Compost (depot)
n/a
n/a
n/a
91.00
0
14.69
0
0
Inc. in collect
0
0
0
0
35.00
18.05
18.85
11.75
40.00
25.00-40.00
25.00
Processing
Recycle
Compost
Landfill
95
RESIDENTIAL MATERIALS
Regina
Saskatoon
Edmonton
Winnipeg
Thunder Bay
Garbage Collection
Municipal Forces (MF)
52,065
Contract Forces (CF)
68,800
82,000
96,000
36,500
0
0
179,000
165,000
0
Private Collection
17,037
14,542
0
0
5,500
Total Households (HH)
69,102
83,342
261,000
261,000
42,000
Tonnes collected/HH/Year
0.77-1.12
0.98
0.84-0.88
0.54-1.0
0.769
Summer Collection Cycle (MF)
7-11 days
7 days
7 days
7.3 days
7 days
Winter Collection Cycle (MF)
7-11 days
14 days
14 days
7.3 days
7 days
Summer Collection Cycle (CF)
Winter Collection Cycle (CF)
Summer Route Size (MF)
800-940 HH/day
984 HH/day
Winter Route Size (MF)
800-940 HH/day
844 HH/day
7 days
3.5-7.3 days
14 days
3.5-7.3 days
341 HH/day
445-933
664 HH/day
664 HH/day
284 HH/day
445-933
Summer Route Size (CF)
349 HH/day
?
Winter Route Size (CF)
291 HH/day
?
Special Collections
Extra Spring
N
N
N
N
Y
Extra Fall
N
N
N
N
N
Bulky Good
N
N
N
N
N
Prohibitions
Y
N
Y
Y
Y
Volume Limits
Y
Y
Y
N
Y
Christmas Trees
Y
Y
Y
N
Small Commercial Free
Y
N
Commercial Contracts
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Material Collection
Municipal Forces
Contract
Paper
Other Recycle
Compost
Total Tonnes
% Diverted
96
50,857
57,488
72,160
71,610
30,101
0
0
15,360
107,150
0
4,600
3,639
18,858
15,400
1,413
0
59
2,920
5,667
1,009
53
35
0
55,510
61,221
244,298
199,827
34,709
2,186
8%
6%
9%
11%
13%
Glossary
3 R’s
The three R’s are Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. These are the elements of
waste minimization and are expressed in decreasing order of importance.
Bylaw No. 9935
The Regina Waste Management Bylaw No. 9935 approved October 1997.
city collection
Removal of Waste by the City of Regina at no charge
compost
Soil material produced by the biochemical decomposition on organic waste
materials.
disposal
The deposit or placement of waste in a repository for perpetuity.
garbage
That which is rejected as worthless or left over after use. Material destined for
disposal.
generator
A person who produces waste. A person is an individual, corporation or
partnership.
High Density Condominium
A condominium development where individual homes do not extend from the
foundation to the roof (i.e. buildings with stacked homes)
home
A building or part of a building that is used as a permanent residence
household hazardous waste
(HHW)
Hazardous materials generated as household waste. Hazards may be
chemical, biological or radioactive. These materials generally originate
through normal commerce and waste management of them is not usually
regulated.
industrial, commercial,
institutional (ICI)
A broad category encompassing all non-residential waste generators.
landfill
Fleet Street Landfill owned and operated by the City of Regina
leachate
Liquid that has percolated through a landfill and accumulated dissolved,
suspended, and/or microbial contaminants from the waste.
Low Density Condominium
A condominium development where individual homes extend from the
foundation to the roof.
property
A registered parcel of land. A parcel of land is the whole or any part of a lot or
block in a registered subdivision or a number of lots or blocks when assessed
together, or any subdivided area of land used for a single assessment.
recycle
Return to previous stage of cyclic process. To convert waste to a reusable
material.
reduce
To lessen the amount or toxicity of a material. This occurs early in the life
cycle of material before it becomes waste.
reuse
To use once more or again. This primarily occurs in mid-life cycle of material
before it becomes waste.
standard residential home
A home that is part of a residential subdivision
waste
Unwanted solid materials produced by a generator from a property. This
includes Garbage, HHW, 3R materials, and some special waste. This does
not include industrial hazardous wastes and certain medical and biomedical
wastes.
97