OG 47 - Sunday, January 28, 1990 - North Shere News Municipalities wrestle with recycling ISSUES OF environment are hammering on the doors of all levels of government, especially on those at the municipal level. On the North Shore, those issues range trom the transportation of dangerous goods through residen- tial areas to noise from waterfront industries. But perhaps highest on the en- vironmental priority list for North and West Vancouver districts and North Vancouver City is the establishment and coordination of a North Shore-wide multi-material curb-side recycling program. While a!) three North Shore councils agree that there is an urgent need for the program, a re- cent disagreement over how it should be implemented on the North Shore has resulted in delays and re-evaluations of the program. A North Shore Mayors’ Task Force set up to investigate how best to institute the program recommended all three municipalities enter negotiations with International Paper Industries Ltd. for a single multi-materiai recycling contract without putting the contract to public tender. The two North Shore districts agreed to the recommendation, but North Vancouver City Council voted to put its recycling contract to public tender. The decision forced the districts to reconsider their recycling pro- gram plans, and now all three North Shore municipalities wiit put a single recycling contract to public tender, thereby delaying im- plementation of the program by several months. West Vancouver municipal manager Terry Lester added that, in addition to co-ordinating a North Shore-wide recycling pro- gram, marketing of the recycled material by the GVRD as a whole is vital to the program’s success in all of the region’s municipalities. “We have to ensure there are markets for the recycled material,’’ he said, ‘‘so that we don’t end up taking what is recycled and dump- ing it in a landfill.” Other environmental concerns in West Vancouver, Lester said, in- clude the transportation of haz- ardous goods through the municipality, both along BC Rail rail lines that run through residen- tial and commercial areas of West Vancouver, and via West Van- couver streets on the way to delivery to the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal. Chlorine, methanol and liquid petroleum gas are just some of the hazardous goods transported on trains through West Vancouver and the othe: North Shore municipalities. And West Vancouver's uoweed Horseshoe Bay harbor is one of the Lower Mainland’s main distribution points for dynamit: shipped to northern coastal areas. Lester said West Vancouver also shares the concerns of other municipalities over the need in the Lower Mainland area for a proper disposal facility for toxic house- hold wastes. Currently, the only facility available to residents who want to dispose of such hazardous house- hold wastes as paints and pesticides is in Surrey. The small facility is only open during the weck and residents must phone ahead to ensure that some- one will be there to accept their ‘wastes. West Vancouver must also decide whether it will continue to allow the backyard burning of garden wastes in the district. A recent task force report to council recommended that the practice be continued for the next three years and that the number of days when burning is permitted be increased ducing that time. Backyard burring was banned in North Vancouver City in December and has been banned in North Vancouver District since 1986. In North Vancouver City, Mayor Jack Loucks said the municipality will be working through the Greater Vancouver Regional District to try to clean up Burrard Inlet. A recent GVRD draft action plan outlining the steps needed to improve the quality of the harbor environment stated that the North Shore’s Lions Gate sewage treat- ment plant and heavy industries along the North Shore waterfront are major inlet polluters. “Through the GVRD we will be working to improve Burrard In- let,’* he said. Loucks added that the control and monitoring of noise from railways and other waterfront in- dustries along the city’s waterfront is also a major city concern. ‘In addition, the GVRD plans to install a 24-hour air-monitoring station in North Vancouver City to pte ttre te ee mew ee mew ewe eee ng phone (604) 929-0233 Pete ee we eww enw wee eee ee eee Working towards a safer environment Envirochem Services provides a full range of innovative engineering and scientific services for safely managing chemicals in the workplace and in the environment. Some of our services include: « Assessments of contaminated sites e PCB Training Programs e Evaluation of Chemical Releases in the Workplace and to the Environment ¢ Contingency Planning 145 Riverside Drive North Vancouver, B.C. V7H 1T6 Fax (604) 929-8102 a a provide Mayor reduction of the solid waste stream Shore. Marilyn Baker Gartner Lee said accurate air-quality readings for the entire North {n North Vancouver District, the and the re-use and recycling of resources will remain a district priority. While a waste transfer station has replaced the municipality's Premier Street landfill site, which was closed to the public in June 1986, Baker said the puolic con- sciousness about garbage has to be raised. See Mayor Page 51 Professional Services in Environmental Management Sperling Plaza. 6400 Roberts Street, Suite 490, Burnaby, B.C. V5G 4C9 (604) 299.4144 Fax (604) 299-1455