Viewers packing the Adventure Centre screening room got a glimpse into potential waste management strategies as district CAO Kevin Ramsay and new engineering manager Brian Barnett made guest appearances at Squamish Climate Action Network's (CAN) Melting Pot film night on Monday (Jan. 18) entitled Dumping Our Landfills.
Ramsay revealed some interesting ideas that may be considered by the district as it reviews and restructures its waste disposal program, including charging residents for removing household solid waste by weight rather than covering the cost through municipal taxes in an effort to reduce garbage and encourage recycling and smart buying practices.
Ramsay said he was shocked to discover Squamish had initiated a blue box recycling program merely a year before he took his position four months ago. It's time for Squamish to pick up the pace in terms of improving waste management, he said.
"We haven't provided the attention to our landfill and our solid waste issues that we should have over the past 10, 20, 30 years. We just have not. Instead of looking back at the reasons why, we need to look forward on how we want to make this right," he said in front of about 50 people in attendance.
Recently bringing Barnett in as engineering manager was part of the district's efforts to find solutions for the landfill, which is reaching capacity and failing to meet environmental standards.
Barnett, who worked for the Resort Municipality of Whistler for 13 years, began in the corridor by working on the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District's (SLRD) solid waste management plan. The plan called for the closure of Pemberton, Whistler and Squamish landfills.
Squamish is the only landfill that remains open and its fate must be considered from a regional perspective, said Barnett.
"The Squamish landfill is at a very interesting point," said Barnett, who will be submitting recommendations to council in less than a month. "Should the landfill get closed or should it get expanded? These are some of the issues that have to be made at this time by this community."
All three films featured on Monday explored waste reduction as the key to solving landfill issues. But obstacles abound.
As shown in Trashed, waste disposal has become a lucrative business in North America. And as developed in The Story of Stuff, modern society has been conditioned to consume the latest goods, from fashionable clothing to electronic gadgets, at an ever-increasing pace. The more we want the more we discard.
Encouraging is the fact that the current system is not natural law, said Squamish CAN co-ordinator Ana Santos. It was developed by humans.
"As you heard, we are people too. So we can create something new," she said.
Squamish CAN is hosting part two of Dumping Our Landfills on Monday (Jan. 25) at the Adventure Centre starting at 7 p.m. Barnett is returning as a guest, along with Carney's Waste Systems president Owen Carney, Carney's Waste Systems soil sale representative Jessica Reid, Compost Culture owner Emily Smallwood and Sea to Sky Babies owner Kate O'Connor.
