THE CORPORATION OF THE
CITY OF PORT COQUITLAM

MEMORANDUM

B.R. Kirk, September 29, 1988
City Administrator

FROM: Enviornmental Protection Committee

SUBJECT: Alternatives to Residential Burning

RECOMMENDATION:

That advertisements be placed in local newspapers advising
residents of the following:
(a) Backyard burning will no longer be permitted
this fall.
(b) Material intended for backyard burning be
placea in the normal domestic garbage for pick
up by City crews.

That the costs incurred in recommendation 1 above be funded from
the 1988 Environmental Protection Budget.

BACKGROUND AND COMMENTS:

Council is well aware of the arguments for and against the continual
burning of debris in residential areas during a specific period of time
designated by Council. Since the discussions on this subject earlier this
year, the Environmental Protection Committee investigated into sone
alternatives to burning in residential areas.

One alternative which was pursued to some extent is composting. This
conc2pt is not new, In fact, several large scale municipal composting plants
have operated successfully in Europe in recent years.

Alderman Gates Suggested a specific concept to compost erass and
leaves. The attached memo from the City Engineer outlines this proposal and
raises a number of relevant questions, fn considering these questions it
became evident that the feasibility of this proposal is very much dependent on
the volume of grass and leaves generated by the residents and the frequency of
pick-up. It was also evident that a number of these questions will take a
considerable amount of research to answer.

In light of these revelations and the need to arrive at a decision as
to whether or not residential burning will be >vermitted this fall, the
Environmental Protection Committee resolved to recommend to Council that
residents be advised as soon as possible that burning will not be permitted
this fall. As an alternative residents wiil be advised that they will be
permitted to put out those items intended for burning in their normal
housenold sarbarce. The approximate volume of additional refuse will be
determined by the City by comparing with historical data. The Committee is
prepared to use its budget for advertising and for the extra tonnage collected.

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