Why should I fill out this questionnaire?
The short answer is because you create waste on Lasqueti, and the facilities we have to deal with your waste are in need of a major overhaul.
Our landfill is non-compliant with current standards, the free store and recycling centre have outgrown the current site, people are still abusing the free store as their private garbage dump, and auto hulks are still littering the roadsides and getting folks hot under the collar. We as a community need to make some tough decisions on how to handle waste on Lasqueti that will have long-ranging consequences.
The cracks in our current waste management system have been apparent and on PRRD radar for a while now. In 2011 the PRRD hired Maura Walker & Associates to draft a Solid Waste Management Plan to address the key issues and chart the future of waste management on Lasqueti. In February 2016, the PRRD appointed us, the Lasqueti Island Solid Waste Management Advisory Committee, to assist with the further development and implementation of the 2011 Solid Waste Management Plan. We need your help to get it right.
If you care about what happens to your and your neighbours’ waste, or if you care about how your tax dollars are spent, please help us by filling out this survey before July 31st 2016!
But before you get going, here is a bit of background on what we already know about community preferences. In the 2011 survey organized by Maura Walker & Associates, the respondents expressed clear support for the following vision statement: “
That Lasqueti Island be a model community for zero waste, embracing waste minimization, reuse and recycling, and ultimately eliminating the need for landfilling of our discards." (82% in support). The views expressed in the remainder of the survey were consistent with this vision statement.
In particular:
- 96% of respondents supported maintaining the free store,
- 93% supported an online swap board for larger items,
- 92% supported promotion/education regarding proper disposal of hazardous waste,
- 86% supported research and promotion of methods for incorporating used materials into local construction projects,
- 82% supported encouraging local artisans and innovators to make use of waste materials,
- 89% supported encouraging organizers of local events to practice waste minimization,
- 86% supported expansion and re-design of the recycling depot,
- 71% supported creation of a storage area to stock-pile recyclables between off-island shipments,
- 80% supported collection of hazardous waste at the recycling depot,
- 72% supported creation of a facility to collect scrap metal; and
- 79% supported user fees for garbage disposal
However, responses were less clear on other key issues, such as:
- whether the landfill should stay open, or be closed and replaced by a transfer station (48.5% vs 51.5%) ,
- to what degree waste services should be funded by property taxes (42% of respondents are opposed to funding waste services entirely through property taxes, only 37% want to continue with the current model, and 79% support user fees),
- whether auto hulks should be removed on the tax payers’ dime or should remain the responsibility of the owners (63% support collection events, but 41% would prefer that owners be required to deal with their derelict vehicles), and
- whether the recycling depot should be always accessible, or only accessible when staffed (35% vs 46%).
To continue our work, we need additional direction from you, the community, on what facilities you would like to see where, and how they should be operated and paid for.
Unsure how to answer some of the survey questions? Need more information on the financial end of things? Wondering how other communities deal with some of the problems we are struggling with?
Come to the LISWMAC community meeting on Tuesday, July 12, 7pm at the community hall, or check out lasqueti.ca/swmc. We will post more information there as it becomes available to us in the run-up to the meeting.
