Whether it starts in your curbside tote or at a CVRD Recycling Centre, garbage collected in the Cowichan Valley travels much farther than you might think.

Local Waste Disposal History

The Cowichan Valley’s landfill reached capacity and was closed in the late 1990s. Before its closure, the CVRD explored options for a new landfill site within the region, but those efforts were ultimately unsuccessful.

While some have called for a new landfill, siting, constructing, and operating a landfill—or an incinerator—requires significant financial investment and long-term planning. It is not something the CVRD can undertake alone.

At our current disposal rates, British Columbia is projected to run out of landfill space in roughly 23 years. While the CVRD continues to collaborate with other jurisdictions on long-term solutions, we must also act locally to reduce the amount of reusable and compostable material sent to landfill. Key waste reduction strategies are found in the region's Solid Waste Management Plan.

Without a regional landfill and limited space within the province, any garbage not captured through recycling or organics collection must be shipped out of the region—adding cost and environmental impact

The Journey Our Garbage Takes

To get an idea of the scope of this journey, check out the distance that your garbage travels between your house and its final destination:

• Once your garbage is collected from the curb it is brought to the Bings Creek transfer station located in North Cowichan (+/- 40km)
• From Bings Creek, it is packed into large trailers destined for Duke Point ferry terminal, Nanaimo (50km)
• These trailers are then barged over to Vancouver (77km)
• From Vancouver, the trailers are loaded onto railcars for their final destination in Washington state, where it is ultimately landfilled (564 km)

This journey (+/- 730km) has resulted in one of the highest tipping fees and disposal costs within British Columbia. What's more, is that 4-5 truckloads (25 tonnes) make this journey each week. This not only highlights the importance of waste reduction for our environment, but it also shows how reducing waste can save on shipping costs and protect local waste management jobs. For some tips to reduce your waste, visit our Waste Management Education page.