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VOL. 27 NO. 45
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JOSH MASSEY PHOTO
DO YOUR Part Recycling employee Max Kurz holds up some items that contributed to the contamination of the recycling stream. The city stands to be fined if the problem continues.
Recycling missteps THE AMOUNT of recyclable material being picked up by city workers has increased since it introduced its automated container system but so has the amount of non-recyclable material being mixed in. “The contamination levels went way up since the automated system. A lot more glass and garbage,” says Kasey Lewis of Do Your Part, the private recycling company hired to sort recyclable material prior to it being shipped south. Some of that may be due to increased volume, as much as three to five tons more for each city recycling pick up cycle. The new containers, blue for recycling and gray for garbage, were introduced at the beginning of the year along with a new truck. It has a mechanical arm that picks up, emp-
ties and returns the containers to their resting place on the ground. Previously residents left seethrough blue plastic bags of recyclables for city workers to manually hoist into a garbage truck. If they spotted anything which could not be recycled, they’d place an informational sticker on the bag and leave it behind. With the new system, the city worker never leaves the cab, relying on a camera in the back to relay images to a monitor in the front of what’s being dumped when the containers are emptied. If they see anything which cannot be recycled or, for instance, hear the sound of glass being emptied, they then leave the truck and put a sticker on the offending container. To date the city has been exceed-
ing the amount of non-recyclable material allowed within the bales of material which can be recycled. Continuing to do that could result in fines being levied of $2,500 per load up to a maximum of $60,000 per year by the agency now running most recycling in B.C., Multi-Material BC (MMBC). But the agency has “no immediate plans to apply these fines as long as the city is actively working to reduce contamination,” says Alison Bogan, its communications director. MMBC began operations in May 2014 and is financed through money provided by packaging producers. Lewis said city residents should remember that its recycling program does not accept electronics nor does it accept glass.
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Wednesday, March 2, 2016
MP open to LNG site switch meet
SKEENA NDP MP Nathan Cullen thinks there’s a deal to be made which could end the opposition and controversy surrounding the proposed Lelu Island location for the planned PacificNorthwest LNG project. That change would be for the company to move to another location. Cullen even has another location in mind – the one on Ridley Island selected by the BG Group for its Prince Rupert LNG project. “I’ll even buy the coffee,” said Cullen of his offer to host a meeting of top executives from the companies and other decision makers. Speaking last week, Cullen said the proposal is based on two factors – the first being the opposition to Lelu Island and the second being the recent purchase by Shell of the BG Group. “I was never sure why they had picked Lelu Island in the first place,” said Cullen in reference to its location within the salmon-sensitive Skeena River estuary. He added that he has asked Petronas, the Malaysian government-owned corporation which is the lead company involved in Pacific NorthWest LNG but has failed to get an answer. “I know both the federal and provincial governments wanted them there. Actually, the federal government helped by changing legislation.” Ever since Lelu Island surfaced as Pacific NorthWest LNG’s preferred location for its LNG plant and export terminal, opposition has grown based on worries of possible effects on Skeena River salmon. Although a federal environmental review released for public comment last month suggested there would be no effects on salmon populations, opposition to the project remains among some First Nations groups, including the Lax Kw’alaams who have Lelu Island within their traditional territory, and among environmental groups. Cullen says that with Shell now buying BG Group, the Prince Rupert LNG project may not proceed simply because Shell is the lead partner in the LNG Canada project at Kitimat which is significantly further along in the development phase. That would make the Ridley Island location available, he said. Cullen did caution that any shift in Pacific NorthWest LNG location would require a complete environmental review, and he noted that companies cannot be compelled to undertake massive shifts in project plans. But those same companies could generate a tremendous amount of goodwill and cooperation from various parties, Cullen added. “If there’s ever a region that needs economic hope, this is it,” said Cullen. The MP even suggested there might be a role for the federal government to play in any project location change inasmuch as it needs to promote economic development. He also said anything he might be able to do would acknowledge conversations among the Lax Kwa’alaams and the Metlakatla into locations of prospective LNG projects. “I would be really cognizant of the process they’re working through,” he said.
Yvonne’s triumph
Iraqi refugees
Hi-yah!
Advocate for those with hindrances receives I.D. card from province. \NEWS A7
Local sponsor groups say they are open to host non-Syrians \COMMUNITY A12
Kick-boxers take their skills to Dublin to challenge internationally \SPORTS A18