Geography 12
Solutions to Vancouver’s Solid Waste Problems
Name: ______________________
Scenario:
Within the Metro Vancouver region, 3.2 million tonnes of solid waste and recyclables are generated each year
of which 55% is diverted from disposal through recycling.
Of the remaining waste, 49% (750,000 tonnes) is sent to the Vancouver Landfill in Delta. The Cache Creek
Landfill currently receives 33% (500,000 tonnes) of the non-recycled waste, and the remaining 18% (280,000
tonnes) of residual waste is sent to the Waste-to-Energy (Incinerator) facility in Burnaby.
In addition to Metro Vancouver’s landfills, seven transfer stations are used to aggregate the waste for trucking
to the appropriate landfill.
The current Burns Bog landfill will be full in the very near future. The Cache Creek Landfill in the southern
interior of BC is also nearly at capacity.
Possible Solutions
Metro Vancouver’s ultimate challenge is Zero Waste, where waste is largely reduced, reused, and recycled.
This is a long-term goal, expected to take several decades. Currently 55% of solid waste is diverted. The goal by
2015 is to divert 70%.
In the interim, municipal solid waste and residuals from processing will need to be disposed. To deal with these
wastes, the following types of solutions have been considered over the past several years:
A) Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT)
A system of waste processing facility that combines a mechanical sorting facility with a form of biological
treatment such as composting or anaerobic digestion.
Solid waste is sorted, (inert and unsuitable materials removed), mechanically processed (to reduce the size of
pieces) and then treated biologically.
The end results are:
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Landfilled
Recycled
Refuse derived fuel (RDF)
Compost products
B) Waste to Energy (WTE)
Waste is burned in incinerators and the heat is used to generate thermal electricity. The electricity can be sold to
offset operating costs and of course the amount of waste needed to be landfilled is reduced. The ash needs to be
disposed of. Reduced transport costs
C) Landfill (with gas recovery)
Landfills are the oldest types of solid waste disposal. They must be lined and leachate collected and treated.
Methane gas can be extracted as garbage rots.
Two options for the GVRD:
1. Expanding use of the City of Vancouver landfill in Delta (Burns Bog). The landfill would then occupy
approximately 3200 acres. (The total Bog occupies approximately 10 000 acres). The landfill could take 750,000
tonnes per year and last until 2037.
2. Add new landfill disposal capacity in the Cache Creek-Ashcroft area
In 1989 Cache Creek became a major landfill site for garbage shipped by truck from BC's Lower
Mainland. At present it collects 500,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste annually.
The landfill site was developed is 48 ha. The total waste capacity of the existing landfill is about 9
million tones and is nearly full. The plan is to expand the Cache Creek landfill, nearly doubling its size
to from 48 to 88 hectares and extend its lifespan by up to 40 years, and 15 million tonnes of capacity.
The expansion also provides the opportunity to extend the lifespan of the existing Cache Creek Landfill
industry, using existing infrastructure and a well-established operational approach. Without this
proposed extension, it is anticipated that economic stability within the local setting would be materially
adversely affected.
Costs = $100 million.
Revenue = $1.2 million/year
Labour = 120 direct positions
Other = tax revenue,
Your Task
You will work in groups to come up with a solution to the Vancouver’s solid waste problems.
You must look at the options and then decide which one is best.
To do this you will need to look at the data and the impact (environmental, economic, social, political, etc) of
each choice. There is no perfect solution and you need to consider several things;
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Cost of building and operating the solution
Income generated from the operation
Pollution from the operation and transport of waste
Other environmental issues (Green house gases, leachate, toxins, impact on habitats, etc.)
Opinions of the citizens living nearby and paying taxes for the solution
Jobs created/lost by the solution
Other issues you think are important
You will present your solution as a report. The sections should be laid out as follows:
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Introduction (set out the situation and problem, briefly describe the possible solutions)
Proposal (explain your proposal, include the advantages and disadvantages, justify your choice with
evidence from the AECOM document.
Grading
Introduction
Basic statement of situation/problem and only 1 possible solution
Marks
1-4
Some detail in description of the situation and 2 to 3 possible solutions
5 - 10
Comprehensive description of the situation and 4 or more possible solutions
11 - 15
Proposal
Choice of solution
Minimal explanation or justification with advantages or disadvantages
Some justification of choice
Basic understanding of advantages and disadvantages
Some evidence included
Clear and detailed justification of choice
Comprehensive and balanced discussion of both advantages and disadvantages
Clear evidence discussed
Presentation
1-9
10 - 20
21 - 30
Basic word-processed
1–4
Well organized with pagination, cover, etc
5 – 10
Excellent presentation. Clearly written and logically laid out with pagination, cover,
use of headings and subheadings, sources of data, etc
Total
11 - 15
60