Hartland Landfill, what a place!

After delivering my letters and "biobags" to the Saanich Municipal Hall I was off to the Hartland Landfill. I was a little afraid to see it up close. I was worried that I would feel hopeless and defeated when I saw all the garbage. But to my surprise, what I saw was pretty amazing!

I had a great visit with the Hartland Landfill Operations Superintendent Tom Watkins. He was completely prepared for my visit. He had studies to show me, facts to tell me and a real hands on view regarding disposable plastic bags. I had imagined that plastic bags would be everywhere around the area but this is not the case.

Tom took me out in his truck for a tour. We went all around the different areas and I was able to ask many questions.

I learned so much, but one thing that stands out is that plastic bags take up so little room in the landfill. They only take up less than 1% of the solid waste composition. This means that plastic grocery bags are not a volume problem.

I got to watch a few garbage trucks unload on the active landfill site. It was interesting to see the garbage inside a sea of plastic grocery bags, mixed in with all the other stuff that ends up at the dump. I saw many plastic bottles such as bleach bottles. It occurred to me that these should also have a deposit like pop cans. Tom told me that this is a Provincial Government Issue. ( I am going to look into how to approach that.)

So from this tour I have decided that plastic grocery bags really are not a landfill issue unless you consider that fossil fuel is used to make these bags and although they are safely buried at Hartland, they are a complete waste of oil and energy. I don't think this is a sustainable, responsible practice. But under the circumstances Hartland is handling it really well.

So now what? Is banning these bags in the CRD a reasonable thing to do? I would like to say yes. I would like to yell YES. But I can't quite do that yet. After seeing the many recyclable items that end up being buried at Hartland, I have to say that perhaps another approach is needed. Perhaps they should be banned. But first I think one of the most effective ways to change a behavior is through education and a deposit system. Why can't our BC government put a deposit on all items that should not end up as garbage? Why don't we ask them? I will add it to my list!

So that is it for today. I will share other information I learned another time.

Tomorrow I am on CFAX 1070am. Call in and have your voice heard.

Goodnight,
Lana