Comox Strathcona Waste Management Service Co-Chairs Brad Unger and Arzeena Hamir at the project site in Campbell River known as Block J.
CAMPBELL RIVER – Construction has begun on a much-needed regional facility that will enable curbside organics collection for over 30,000 single-family homes in Campbell River, Comox, Cumberland and Courtenay. The household organic material will be repurposed into finished compost for agricultural and landscaping uses, diverting approximately 30 per cent of collected waste from our regional landfill.
The compost facility, located in Campbell River, is scheduled for completion in September 2022 and will accept co-mingled food and yard waste as part of municipal curbside collection programs. Community updates around the timing of this rollout will be made available later in 2022.
“We are very excited to break ground on this important project,” said Cole Makinson, Capital Projects Manager for Comox Strathcona Waste Management Service. “Removing organics from the waste stream is absolutely essential. Not only do organics take up space in our landfill but methane from the food waste produces greenhouse gases which are harmful to the environment.”
In addition to the compost facility in Campbell River, a transfer station is also under construction at the regional landfill in Cumberland. As household waste from Campbell River is transported to Cumberland for disposal, organics from households in the Comox Valley will be loaded into empty trailers at this location to be transported to the compost facility in Campbell River.
The $17.3 million project is funded through $6.4 million in grants and the remainder through reserves. The facility is sized to process 14,500 tonnes of organics yearly, with space to expand and double the capacity in the future while increasing the lifespan of the regional landfill. Informed by extensive community input collected in 2020, the design of the composting facility and transfer station ensures issues like odour, groundwater, pests and traffic are addressed.
Managing Waste in the Comox Strathcona Waste Management (CSWM) Service Area
The CSWM service area extends from the Comox Valley in south to the tip of Vancouver Island in the north to the Pacific Ocean in the west and the Salish Sea in the East. Removing organics from the waste stream is an important part of achieving the diversion targets set out in the CSWM’s Solid Waste Management Plan, which provides a road map for how waste is managed in the region. The CSWM service will be updating this important document in the coming years and will be reaching out to residents and stakeholders for their input into this important process.