The Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) wants to hear from residents and businesses on the future of waste management on the Sunshine Coast.

The Solid Waste Management Plan guides how recycling, green waste, food waste and garbage will be managed across the region over the next ten years and beyond. The plan is required by the Province of British Columbia.

Since 2023, the SCRD has been developing the draft plan with input from the community, a public advisory committee and the SCRD Board.

The SCRD is now asking residents to review the draft and share feedback on the proposed approaches for managing waste on the Sunshine Coast.

Community input is particularly important as the region plans for the future. The Sunshine Coast’s only landfill is nearing capacity, and the SCRD is working to identify solutions that will ensure reliable waste services and disposal options for the next 30 to 35 years.

Residents and businesses can participate in several ways, including attending in-person engagement sessions or completing an online questionnaire.

Feedback will be accepted until April 10, 2026, and will help shape the final Solid Waste Management Plan.

The 2023 Solid Waste Composition Study shows that the waste disposed at Sechelt Landfill contain 23% organics, 22% recyclables and 1% other materials such as electronics or batteries (fire hazard!). This means 46% of waste taking up space in our landfill could have been recycled or processed into compost. The study results help inform the effectiveness of current waste diversion programs and opportunities for further improvement.

Find the 2023 Waste Composition Study here.

The Sechelt Landfill is rapidly approaching its total approved capacity. SCRD completed a Future Waste Disposal Options Analysis Study in 2021. The four options initially under consideration included siting and developing a new landfill, exporting waste outside of the region, building a waste-to-energy facility and expanding the Sechelt Landfill. Based on this study, it was found that waste-to-energy was unattainable due to cost, so the SCRD is moving forward with continued feasibility studies on the other options.

In 2022, staff retained Sperling Hansen Associates to review the feasibility of developing a new landfill in the region, review the Future Waste Optional Analysis Study, and complete a preliminary scan of the region to identify for additional feasible sites. The next step is to analyze the feasibility of all future waste disposal options, including landfill and waste export, starting in summer 2023. Once options are identified, public engagement on the proposals will occur.

The last Solid Waste Management Plan was created in 2011 for the region. These plans are updated every 10 years to ensure they reflect changing community needs. We need the community’s input on new plan components like programs and initiatives to divert waste and future disposal options. Read the plan here.

Key milestones include:

1. The SCRD's weekly food waste collection (Green Bin) program launched on October 6, 2020. This project enables the community to divert approximately 35% of household waste that would have ended up in the Sechelt Landfill.
2. Since 2011, the SCRD has introduced incentive-based tipping fees, started an illegal dumping program, expanded reuse facilities at landfills, and community reuse and repair centers.
3. The 2011 target is to divert 69% of the region’s solid waste from the Sechelt Landfill.

Since 2011, the Pender Harbour Landfill has closed and the Sechelt Landfill is rapidly approaching capacity and is expected to close by mid-2025. This means the SCRD needs to identify a new long-term disposal option and seek approval from the Province through a SWMP Update.

The purpose of the PTAC is to provide a forum for contribution from residents from a range of backgrounds to inform the review and update of the Solid Waste Management Plan.

This Committee will play an integral role in guiding the future of solid waste on the Sunshine Coast. A new landfill? Waste export? Reducing illegal dumping? Increasing recycling programs? This committee will help create a “made on the Sunshine Coast” plan with us.

Listen into the meetings and learn more at www.scrd.ca/ptac

In 2021, SCRD engaged the community and then asked the Province to amend current SWMP to allow waste export outside the region, should a long-term disposal option not be operational before the Sechelt Landfill closes. To learn more about the 2021 SWMP Amendment process, click here.