Tipping fees at the Whistler Transfer Station in the Callaghan Valley will rise again next year after council approved the increase at its final meeting of the term on Oct. 4.
The cost of disposing of eight different waste stream items is increasing, including Biosolids (rising from $215 to $240 per tonne), clean land clearing wood waste ($110 to $120/tonne—free if already chipped), and dirty wood waste ($160 to $180/tonne).
Other items getting fee increases include gypsum board ($360 to $381), and bulky items, landfill waste, and construction and demolition waste, all rising from $210 to $221/tonne.
The fee increases will keep Whistler in line with the regional average disposal fees to discourage residents from illegally dumping in the area surrounding Whistler, which has become a growing concern. The change will take effect on Jan. 1, 2023.
"The fee increases are balanced with the risk of increasing illegal dumping and material moving up and down the highway with waste disposal, which takes advantage of lower disposal rates close by,” said Resort Municipality of Whistler waste operations coordinator Ian McKeachie.
“We work to stay consistent with our partners in the Sea to Sky, District of Squamish and so on, and match these proposed tipping fees with theirs to avoid waste moving up and down the Sea to Sky corridor unnecessarily."
Three items remain free to dispose of: bike tires and tubes, large household appliances and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Recyclable Materials (not including automobile tires).
In June 2022, the federal government created new regulations to ban six single-use plastic items: plastic grocery bags, straws, plastic cutlery, stir sticks, six-pack rings, and items made from hard-to-recycle plastic.
The regulations will take effect over the next few years, removing these items from the waste stream and easing the burden they bring on municipalities.
Learn more about the fee increase here.
