There may be movement forward with a regional materials recovery facility in the coming weeks.
The Foothills Regional Services Commission put out a report to its partners in the region – Okotoks, Black Diamond, Turner Valley, High River, the MD of Foothills and Nanton – requesting a response as to whether councils from each community were interested in pursuing a regional materials recovery facility (MRF).
Paul Lyons, waste services manager for the Town of Okotoks, said the commission’s report identified the cost of the program based on the current usage in each municipality and looked at the pros and cons of having a regional MRF.
“It came back with the estimated cost of running a program to each single-family residential unit in the region,” said Lyons.
According to the report compiled by consultant firm Tetra Tech, the estimated cost of constructing the MRF and purchasing necessary equipment would be about $4.4 million. Annual operating costs would be close to $500,000, with the total cost per residence being about $4.39 for 16,800 households.
Currently, Okotoks residents pay $20.50 per month for garbage, recycling and organic waste collection.
“The estimated total cost for waste services for each household in Okotoks, with a MRF, has not been determined at this time,” said Lyons.
Town council voted on June 26 to advise the Foothills Regional Services Commission that Okotoks is interested in moving forward with exploring a regional MRF, and also to explore a collaborative waste management system for the region.
To-date, Black Diamond and Turner Valley have also voted in favour of looking into both programs. Nanton has indicated it may be interested in both options in the future, and no response has been received from High River or the MD, he said.
Lyons said there could be significant benefits to having a regional MRF, like sharing resources between communities.
“Turner Valley and Black Diamond currently have two trucks, but if they’re only using one truck for collection it means they would have a resource sitting, not being used,” said Lyons. “If we were collaborating, we would have fleet of vehicles that would then be utilized to their maximum potential.”
Having a MRF and operating a regional waste management program could also mean the programs delivered for waste collection could be similar across all the partner municipalities – meaning more could be diverted from the landfill.
He said every municipality has its own plan and vision, similar to the Okotoks 2020 Waste Management Plan, and though each one is different in many ways, they all point to managing the landfill and preserving it as a resource.
“If all the communities had the same or similar program and were doing the same thing, that would extend the life of our landfill, which is a tremendously valuable resource,” said Lyons. “We would be able to really extend the life of the current landfill and still be able to meet environmental targets that each individual community has set out.”
