Download (pdf) - Calgary Regional Partnership

Present
Calgary & Region Waste Reduction Partnership
Minutes of Joint Meeting, October 6th, 2008
Red Deer Lodge
Mayor Linda Bruce–City of Airdrie
Dave Whitfield–Alberta Environment
Councillor Reinhold Ortlier–Leduc County
Councillor Ken Darby–Parkland County
Bud Latta–City of Edmonton
Councillor Ben Henderson-City of Edmonton
Leo Girard-City of Edmonton
Peter Duck-BVWMC
Councillor Paul Ryan-MD Bighorn
Councillor Hopeton Louden-MD Rocky View
Dave McPhee-Leduc County
Councillor Bill Szabon-Town of Nanton
Blake Termeer-Town of Chestermere
Sarah Noble-City of Calgary
Councillor Glen Lawrence-Strathcona County
Kathy Lewin-Town of Beaumont
Mayor Anita Fisher-Town of Devon
Neil Kivell-MVRWMC
Councillor Louise White-Gibbs-Town of Beaumont
Christina Seidel-RCA
Janet Altmiks-APRA
Brenna McLennan-Alberta Environment
Dusty Williams-Town of Turner Valley
Joanne Walroth-MD of Rocky View
Alderman Jeff Acker-City of Spruce Grove
Councillor Judy Bennett-Town of Stony Plain
Darryl McDonald-Town of Okotoks
Cole Nelson-MD of Rocky View
John Deagle-MD Foothills
Angela Brightwell-City of Airdrie
Shelley Armeneau - Calgary Regional Partnership
OPENING COMMENTS
Dave Whitfield of Alberta Environment welcomed attendees to the 2 nd Biannual
Joint Meeting of the Northern and Southern Alberta groups. Dave
thanked his colleagues at Alberta Environment for sponsoring lunch and the
central Alberta region for provided the meeting room and refreshments. This will
be an informal, but informative session. Roundtable introductions followed.
Calgary & Region Waste Reduction Partnership Meeting Page 1

SPECIAL GUESTS & PRESENTATIONS
Dave commented on the good turnout from all areas across the region. He
then asked Mayor Anita Fisher to introduce the first speaker, Mrs. Diana
McQueen, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Environment.
Mrs. McQueen thanked members for the opportunity to attend this meeting
and provide information on the Province’s goals for the future. She made the
following points:
• I am pleased to be working with Minister Renner, who has given me the
mandate to implement Alberta’s Too Good to Waste Strategy.
• My experience with municipal affairs and as former Mayor of Drayton Valley has
helped me tremendously in undertaking this mandate.
• This process emphasizes collaborative, multi-stakeholder decision making.
• We know the best policy decisions are those that draw upon the valuable
viewpoints that come to us from municipalities, industry and environment
organizations.
• We all benefit from coming together to share what is working and what is not,
on the waste front.
• With respect to waste, it is not easy to be a waste manager during this time of
growth, and as you are well aware, municipalities deal with this every day. What
has worked for 2 or 3 million people might not work for 4 million. Alberta has
shown provincial and municipal leadership on many fronts. We still lead the
country in waste disposal.
• According to Statistics Canada, Albertans produced more than 1000 kilograms of
waste per person in 2006. This was the highest in the country, a 24% increase
from 2004.
• On the brighter side, there has only been a 3% increase in residential waste
sources in the past two years. Compare that to the 5% increase in our
population growth. These numbers clearly reflect the efforts of municipalities
who have engaged in more residential recycling and reuse options and tag-a-gab
programs.
• Alberta does face some unique challenges that other do not, but we are
organized and have a plan. Alberta’s Too Good to Waste Strategy was launched
last fall. It tackles real environmental concerns.
• Provincial efforts to reduce waste have started with stewardship programs.
• One of our flagship programs is the beverage container recycling program, which
has had great success, with a 75% recovery rate. Our goal is to reach 85%. We
have recently undergone a regulation review, details of which will be announced
later this fall.
• We have also begun to address construction and demolition waste. This type of
waste accounts for 1/3 of waste entering class two and three landfills. We have
started the process with a Memorandum of Understanding with the Alberta
Construction Association and the Canadian Home Builders Association.
• We are further looking at a packaging and printed materials program. Organic
programs are also on the radar.
Calgary & Region Waste Reduction Partnership Meeting Page 2

• My goal is to reverse the 80-20% waste disposal ratio, and municipalities are an
integral part of this process.
• There are many environmental issues to tackle and waste is a priority, as
indicated by the Too Good to Waste Strategy, paint recycling stewardship
program and electronics recycling programs being implemented by the province.
• While the current waste statistics tell us there is much room for improvement-the
potential and indeed the future looks very bright.
Questions & Answers for Mrs. McQueen
John Deagle commented that his municipality has been working on a
construction waste diversion program for some time, but have experienced
problems marketing the items. What do we do with them, unless there are
funds to promote them?
A: A memorandum of understanding with the Home Builders Association is in
the works, and we have them on board in a consultation process. Discussions
will include ideas such as deposit fees at the builder level. We will work as a
team and through that will come a recommendation to roll out this program. We
don’t have all of the answers yet, we are looking for consultation first. Having
industry on board is important, this is their number one priority for this coming
year, we are not working against them.
Joanne Walroth asked about the beverage container regulation updates. We all
have infrastructure tied up in that program would like more information. Is
there any timeframe on this and the milk program?
A: Yes, announcements will be made later this month or early November. The
same goes with construction and demolition waste. We are talking to
stakeholders involved, you won’t have long to wait for answers.
Q: Regarding construction and demolition waste, are they going to be part of
ARMA?
A: We are discussing that right now. We have heard from ARMA and from
industry how they would like it to roll that out.
Q: Any progress on residential recycling grant program working again?
A: Yes, we are working on it.
Q: Paul Ryan asked/commented on the need for more stringent regulations on
water bottle deposits
A: Christina Seidel of RCA noted that retailers must refund the deposit if
requested. She further noted that when the switch is made to recycle, it will be
a regular deposit.
A: Bill Szabon advised that he has been a retailer, and people try to return
bottles from other sources. The problem seems to be there is no universal
program for retailers to follow.
Calgary & Region Waste Reduction Partnership Meeting Page 3

Paul would like answers for constituents.
The City of Calgary noted their curb-side recycling program will be coming out
next spring, and there may be an opportunity for municipalities to use the same
outside company.
The City of Edmonton region noted the PLASCO plant in central Alberta takes
mixed plastics. A solution may come with time.
Mrs. McQueen advised the province is working on guidelines regarding mixed
plastics.
Dave Whitfield noted there was a significant change in the handling of mixed
plastics in China in advance of the Olympics. We may be seeing different
approaches, it may be easier in China, but also a very large supply of plastic is
generated worldwide. We have to find out own solutions. It’s very encouraging
we are working on these projects. Another area of interest is the business of
agricultural plastics: we are dealing with twine and sheet material, silage wrap,
finding interest in the marketplace for these materials. Oil prices seem to be
driving this.
Dave Whitfield then introduced Anita Fisher, Chair of the Capital Region and
Mayor of Devon, to provide a report on GIS. Anita’s presentation is located on
the CRP website under CRP Projects, Regional Waste Management.
Questions & Answers:
Q: Where is GIS operated/ housed?
A: Currently housed in Strathcona County, as caretaker until the Capital Region
Board decides otherwise. There is currently no dedicated funding and staff so
we may be looking to municipalities to operate and update data.
Q How much did it cost to do study?
A: The original grant from the provincial government was $125,000, which has
created a great planning tool that you can plug in any scenario and get excellent
results. The timing was unfortunate because we were beginning this process at
end of the ACRA era. Hopefully the information will still be used on a regional
basis to assess scenarios being reviewed. We would be interested in sharing
with municipalities.
The following presentations were also made, and are available to view on our
website:
• Bio-Solids Pilot - Paul Ryan, MD of Bighorn
• Zero Waste Special Events - Peter Duck, Bow Valley Waste Commission
Calgary & Region Waste Reduction Partnership Meeting Page 4

Garry Pollock of the Town of Turner Valley was unable to attend to present
information on the Styrofoam ban. Dave Whitfield updated members as follows:
• The Town of Turner Valley recently passed a motion to ban Styrofoam in
their community. We’ve had many discussions at a regional level, and as
a regional partnership, are supporting them with any educational tools
they need. They are focusing in on food retailers, which is where the size
of Turner Valley is helpful with a smaller number of businesses. They
have experienced good support from their vendors.
Bud Latta, Director of Engineering, Processing & Disposal for the City of
Edmonton gave the following update:
The City of Edmonton's Clover Bar Landfill will finally close in mid-2009. This
necessitates major changes in how waste is managed in Edmonton. The City has
entered into a long term contract with the Beaver Regional Solid Waste Management
Commission (in Ryley) for provision of landfill disposal services. That landfill is about
80km from the City. A new major transfer station is under construction at the
Edmonton Waste Management Centre, and that will provide the means to load trash in
to long haul tractor-trailer units for the haul to Ryley. At the same time, the City is
expanding its’ waste diversion programs and infrastructure. The transfer station facility
is just part of a large complex that will include equipment for processing incoming waste
to provide optimized feed for the composter and, starting in 2010 - for the planned new
Biofuels Facility. The Biofuels Facility will be fully operational in 2011 and will produce
ethanol (fuel) through a gasification and reformation process. Once everything is
running, somewhere between 80% and 90% of the residential waste stream will be
diverted from landfill. The Edmonton Materials Recovery Facility is also being expanded
to deal with increasing volumes of recyclables collected through our programs. On the
collection services side, a major new EcoStation will open in SW Edmonton and will
function, as do the other stations, as a regional drop off for trash, recyclables and
hazardous waste. We are also piloting some enhanced services such as a "Dumpster
free zone" downtown and a carry-out service for seniors. We operate a very popular
series of "big bin events" each summer where residents can bring large items to a
community centre parking lot where we put it into bins and haul away.
Sgt. Donna Hanson, Drug & Organized Crime Awareness Service, RCMP,
provided a presentation on the Implications of Crystal Meth labs and Outdoor
Grow Operations for Municipal Staff. Following is an overview of some key
points:
Calgary & Region Waste Reduction Partnership Meeting Page 5

• Drug labs are often found in rural areas
• For every 160 lbs of drugs made there are 5-7 lbs of waste generated
• Take great care when cleaning random garbage dump sites
• Items to be wary of in random sites: discoloured propane tanks, large
amount of household chemicals, coffee filters
• If you suspect garbage is from drug lab, contact someone who specializes
in the removal of hazardous waste
• All labs are potentially explosive and if ignited, should be treated as a
chemical fire
• Indicators there may be drug house in your neighbourhood:
� Strong smell of chemicals emanating from house
� Blacked out windows
� Renter- cash only-no last name given
� Renters keeping odd hours
� Excessive trash
� Unusual activity in outbuildings
The meeting was adjourned at 2:00 p.m.
Calgary & Region Waste Reduction Partnership Meeting Page 6