Goal is to cut what's thrown away

Massive compost

By MICHAEL COX

A VAST PILE of rotting vegetation may seem like a dis-
gusting thought, but if a new city proposal is allowed to
percolate, it will be a fertile reality,

City councillor David Hull put forward a proposal May 8
to start a new composting program in Terrace by 2000,

“This is one way we can act locally and this is a feasible
project,” he said,

Hull said that it is possible to reduce the amount of gar-
den refuse going to the landfill from between tnid-April to
mid-October by up to 50 per cent, ,

‘Right now we're spending money to treat waste that
isn’t waste,’ he said, ~~ - :

The compost generated by the program would be a great
source of fertilizer for residents, but Hull said the delails of
the program still have to be worked out. -

A pick-up or drop-off system for compost materia] could

be brought in, but the issue of non-biodegradable garbage
bags comes into play.

One alternative to this problem, Hull said, is to provide
or sell biodegradable garbage bags for garden refuse.

This would save time and moncy for the cily because the
garden clippings and leaves could be thrown Straight

through a mulcher rather then being sorted out, he said.

Another option is to change bylaws so yard waste won't
be picked up with other domestic waste,
The main problem with this situation, Hull said, is that
you have to provide an alternative,

The bottom line is the program has to be cost effective

- and convenient for the residents, Hull added, ;

This isn’t the first composting praject Terrace has tried.
Stew Christensen, director of enginecring for the city, said
past composting projects were too labour intensive to be
cost effective,

THE GOOD NEws Is

‘WE HAD A RECORD SNOWFALL

THIS YEAR.

THE BAD NEWS IS

WE HAD A RECORD SNOWFALL

THIS YEAR.

plan

=

The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, May 19, 1999- A15

“People would drop off their refuse in plastic bags so
they needed to be emptied,” he said.

Christensen also said that people were sometimes mixing
garbage with their compost material so everything had ta
be sorted out by hand.

Cost effectiveness is only one of the details to be worked
out in the latest compost proposal.

’ Finding a suitable location is further complicated by the
location of the Terrace dump, Christensen said, as the
dump’s location could change as soon as next year,

“We: have to look at where the landfill is going to be in
the future,’’ he said. ~

Hull said a composting program could help satisfy one of
the ‘initiatives of a solid waste management program set
out in 1995. Its goal is to cut the volume of waste going ta

the landfills around the province by 50 per cent by the year
2000.

David Hull

of flaoding.

Melting snow
reservoirs and generates our.”
power. But large amounts of
snow, melting too quickly,
tan increase the possibility

feeds our

So we're now performing
extensive forecasting at all
our reservoirs in order to
protect public safety and
minimize the threat af flood
_ damage from spring runoff.

vor 7 fay The best weather to prevent
-.. | flooding is mild, dry weather *-
| through June. -

_ Snowfall caused damage: ta

the “structural. supports of |
some’ transmission’. towers. a
ur crews are working |:
“under extreme conditions to
~|crepair the’ dai
i maintain electricity supply.

\ Our’ crews:

damage and

8

Fish and habitat protection

are always considered in
managing release of excess
water from reservoirs.

: Dial
Oo” (

|, inthe Lower Mainland: