By
MITCHELL SHERRIN Staff Writer Driftwood
Islanders
could hear more buzz about locating wood chippers at waste-transfer stations
after a Salt Spring Island Solid Waste Advisory Committee (SSISWAC) meeting
Friday.
"We got a legal opinion from a lawyer about chipping on a waste-transfer site, and our legal opinion is 'yes, that is something you can do,' although the wording is a bit fuzzy," said Capital Regional District director and SSISWAC member Gary Holman.
Once
chipping was ruled a legal activity at the Salt Spring Garbage Services waste-transfer
station on Blackburn Road, the door was opened for other waste-transfer
stations, Holman said.
"If
you allow it at one transfer station, unless you rewrite the bylaws, you'd have
to allow it at the other ones."
The
chipper decision could be a difficult blow for Lee Road residents after the CRD recently
approved a contentious waste-transfer licence for Laurie's Recycling and Waste
Service.
"To
have a big 'tub-grinder' up at Laurie Hedger's place would not go down too well
with the neighbours there," Holman said.
Lee
Road residents met with Holman, CRD staff, Island Trust planners and elected
trustees to share their concerns on February 5.
"It
seemed to me that a lot of neighbours couldn't get past the legalization of the
transfer station in the first place."
Given
that the Trust has already made a land-use decision, the next step is to
properly regulate waste-transfer stations, he said.
As
one component of the regulatory process, SSISWAC will discuss appropriate sites
for wood-waste chipping on the island.
"One
of the priorities for the solid-waste committee on Salt Spring is to look at
alternatives to burning."
SSISWAC
is also considering a pilot project for composting liquid waste at Burgoyne Bay
that could use chipped wood waste.
"Those
two things could potentially dovetail quite nicely. If we can encourage people
to chip material and that material could be used for composting our liquid
waste, we're recycling it then."
The
composting plan would also save shipping costs from trucking liquid waste off
island, he said.
Holman
expects a portion of the Friday's meeting will be held in camera because it
pertains to contracts on private land, but SSISWAC will involve the public in
the decision-making process, he said.
"It
will go public with either a recommendation it wants feedback on, or it will go
public and get input before it makes a recommendation on possible chipping
sites."
The
solid waste committee will meet at the CRD building inspection office at 10:15
a.m. on February 20.
(The
February 20th meeting was cancelled , at VERY short notice, because "They
were not ready"!!)