What We Do

The Cariboo Regional District (CRD) has established 14 landfills and 15 transfer stations throughout the region to provide solid waste disposal services for its residents. These facilities provide the secure disposal of household garbage, scrap metal, appliances and wood waste. The CRD also cooperates with the Recycling Council of BC and the three principal urban areas of the district - 100 Mile House, Williams Lake and Quesnel, in the delivery of recycling programs aimed at diverting waste material from landfills, as mandated under the CRD's Solid Waste Management Plan.

Solid Waste Management Plans 

Under the Waste Management Act of BC, every regional district was required to prepare and submit a Solid Waste Management Plan to the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks for approval. The purpose of these plans was to identify strategies by which local governments would assist provincial waste reduction objectives. A provincial 50% reduction was to be achieved by the year 2000, in terms of the per capita generation of waste requiring disposal at landfills and other facilities. Strategies follow the 3R's principle - Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle, plus recovery and residual management. 

Cariboo Regional District (CRD) Plan

The CRD plan received ministerial approval in June 1997. It provides for the long-term management of municipal solid waste in an environmentally - and economically - acceptable manner. The plan will be phased in over a 14-year period, which began in 1996, with priority being given to implementing environmentally-sensitive practices, such as eliminating all open burning of waste by the year 2005 and upgrading landfill operating practices. When all waste reduction strategies are fully implemented, the amount of solid waste requiring disposal will decrease by 17%. This reduction level was established in view of the fact that Cariboo Regional District residents currently produce 50% less waste than the provincial average.
 

Plan Implementation and Funding

The plan will be implemented through a cooperative effort involving the Cariboo Regional District, member municipalities, the BC Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection and, where applicable, private enterprise. Plan funding will be achieved primarily through general taxation and user fees in some municipalities.

Main Elements of the Cariboo Regional District Plan

The plan consists of the following 6 elements: 

Reduction and Reuse Program; 
Recycling Program; 
3Rs Promotion and Education Program; 
Landfill Upgrading Program; 
Transfer Station Upgrading Program; and, 
Wood Waste Management Program.