Solid Waste and Recycling Facilities |
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HOURS OF OPERATION Monday & Saturday 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. TRANSFER STATION: Thursday - Monday 11:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Both sites are closed on all Statutory Holidays including Boxing Day. Phone Landfill at 648-2273 for further information. LANDFILL AND TRANSFER STATION OPERATIONS OUTLINE In October 1990, the Town of Whitecourt and Woodlands County started operation of the joint landfill and transfer station system. Prior to that time the Town and the County had operated their own systems and there was a need to develop a better, more efficient system. To help plan for a joint system, the Town and County formed the Regional Solid Waste Management Authority to build a new regional system that would serve residents from both areas. Funding and assistance were received from the Health Unit and Alberta Environment and the landfill/transfer station system was brought into existence. Operational costs are shared on a per capita basis, which at the present is funded 68.4% by the Town and 31.6% by the County, based on 2000 population figures of 8,008 for the Town and 3,699 for the County. The Town is under contract to the Regional Authority to manage and operate the system. The service agreement area covers the Town of Whitecourt and all of Woodlands County. B. Transfer Station Operations 1. Location and Hours The site is in the east end of Whitecourt on 41st Avenue and is open Thursday - Monday from 11:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. and is closed on Statutory Holidays. 2. Site Operations a) One full-time attendant mans it for the 35 hours that it is open
per week. The fenced in site with metal bins used for disposing most
household and commercial type wastes in small amounts. A local contractor
who then hauls it to the landfill does the dumping of the bins (approximately
51 times per month). This amounts to approximately 2% of the total refuse
at the landfill. 3. Paper Recycling a) There is also a paper-recycling depot on site, which the Town supervises for the Whitecourt Environmental Society and it continues to be more and more popular with the public. b) There are two large trailers used for cardboard, newsprint, phone books, magazines, flyers and computer / office paper. In addition, there are now two blue plastic bins used to collect rinsed out milk cartons, 1 litre tetra-paks and the smaller tetra-paks with the straws removed. Tin cans are also accepted and should be rinsed, have the labels and ends removed and then are flattened out. c) The Society co-ordinates removal of the products with the newsprint
going to the ANC de-inking facility and the remainder to be transported
to Edmonton. 4. Composting a) This facility started up on May 20, 1993 and includes composting of grass, leaves and garden waste in an area that was extended on into the southeast corner approximately 30 meters x 30 meters. This was a successful one-year pilot program with capital funding through the Recycling Branch of Alberta Environment and operating funding through Environment Canada. In 2000 it was decided that the facility was too small and with the help again from a government grant we expanded the site to 50 meters x 25 meters. b) There was approximately 20m3 of decomposed material generated in 1993 from 311 vehicle trips between May through October, another 60m3 in 1994 from 602 vehicle trips and 55m3 in 1995 from 549 vehicle trips. In 1996 approximately 107m3 of decomposed material was generated from 823 vehicle trips, and another 60m3 from 1,027 vehicle trips in 1997. In 1998 approximately 40 m3 of decomposed material was generated from 1,113 vehicle trips. In 1999 approximately 90 m3 of decomposed material was generated from 1,191 vehicle trips. In 2000 approximately 120m3 of decomposed material was generated from 2,320 vehicle trips. In 2001 approximately 360m3 of decomposed material was generated from 2,066 vehicle trips. c) The single pile configurations are turned and watered regularly and made available free of charge to the public when decomposition has been completed in about 6 - 12 months. The Town also uses the material as a topsoil supplement, for flowerbeds and as a mulch for planted ornamental trees / shrubs.
a) The transfer station is considered as a “one - drop stop” where waste and a variety of recyclables can be deposited all at one time on the same site b) Future consideration may be given to include other aspects of recycling such as plastic containers and certain glass products at the transfer station. C. Landfill Operations 1. Location and Hours The landfill is situated 17 kilometres east of Whitecourt on Highway #43 and is open Tuesday - Friday from 9:00 am - 6:00 pm, Monday and Saturday from 9:00 am - 5:00 pm and is closed on Statutory Holidays. Two full-time and one part-time staff man it in order to keep up with the ongoing cover and other operations for these 52 hours open per week. 2. Site Operations 3. Tires a) Small and medium sized tires are being recycled through the Tire Recycling Management Board (T.R.M.B.). The T.R.M.B. administers the $4.00 tire surcharge by getting recycling ventures underway. b) Initially small sized tires were going to Inland Cement but this didn’t prove out as a fuel source, so small and medium sized tires are now open for recycling by contractors on a first come basis at the landfill. Tires are also being recycled in town by private arrangements with the local suppliers and recycling companies who pick up tires directly from the suppliers’ sites. c) In the fall of 1995, Total Tire Recyclers came in and removed the small and medium sized tires at both the new landfill and old nuisance grounds sites. In 1998 JC’s Trucking & Equipment came in and removed one semi-trailer load each of medium and small tires. Since 1999 Merry Shack Trucking has been coming in and removeing tires from both the old and existing landfills. The backlog of tires is no longer a major concern. Some oversized off-highway tires still remain on site waiting for further recycling efforts to remove them. d) Recycling incentives are becoming more successful through the T.R.M.B. in order to keep a continual flow of tires going through the system. We are looking forward to the future recycling of the oversized tires presently being stored at both the new and the old landfill sites in numbers over 800. 4. Waste Metal The landfill receives and separately stores various waste metals such as white goods, car bodies and other metal materials. The Authority pays for freon to be removed from refrigerators and freezers prior to being recycled.
a) Disposal of sump wastes from car/truck washes and commercial/industrial businesses began in July 1994 to accept this waste at the landfill through the operation of several holding ponds. Waste manifests and testing is in place to ensure proper non-hazardous materials are being disposed. b) Once a pond is full, it is tested and if satisfactory, the liquids are spray irrigated onto completed containment units and the sludge is dewatered and used for daily landfill cover. 6. Car Batteries These are accepted at the landfill and at the transfer station and must have the fluids drained out before being disposed. An Edmonton business buys the batteries for a minimum charge and picks these up several times per year for recycling. 7. Residential and Commercial Collection The residential garbage pick-up in 2001 for approximately 1,955 single-family units is contracted separately to a local contractor who also under private arrangements hauls for commercial and industrial customers. 8. Town Waste Collection The Town has a one-ton side loading garbage collection truck, which is used for Town purposes in the downtown, recreation fields, park areas and other public places. D. General Conclusion The Authority is committed to proper utilization of the landfill and transfer station in an attempt to reduce landfilled waste quantities and costs through waste diversion, to promote environmental ethics, to promote public responsibility and to augment waste reduction efforts. Protection of the environment is foremost in this regional system in order to keep the environment clean and healthy.
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1. Domestic Waste Outside Agreement Area -
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