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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