Metro Vancouver’s Garbage Coming To Abbotsford

By Nathal Pachal. Within the Lower Mainland, Abbotsford is a community that some people go to in an attempt to escape some of the taxes and regulations in Metro Vancouver.

One example is that people head to Abbotsford for cheaper gas that they think will save them a few dollars per fill. Of course because of this “leakage”, TransLink receives less revenue to pay for roads and transit, and has to look to other revenue sources. This isn’t the only thing that is leaking into Abbotsford.

Apparently in an attempt to bypass Metro Vancouver’s tough waste management regulations, some waste haulers are dumping Metro Vancouver’s commercial and multi-family residential waste in Abbotsford. These haulers not only avoid paying the fees to maintain our waste management system, but also avoid the material ban on recyclables and others rules that prevent material from ending up in the dump.

In Metro Vancouver, all waste should end up at a regional transfer station where it is subject to inspection for compliance with Metro Vancovuer’s waste regulations and charged Metro’s rate for waste management. Waste haulers that are bypassing Metro Vancouver’s waste system are using the Abbotsford system because it has weaker regulations and lower fees.

Metro Vancouver is currently looking at rules to prevent this from happening, but there is opposition from the waste haulers sector.

If I was a citizen of Abbotsford, I’d be pretty upset that my waste system was being using by some Metro Vancouver waste haulers because it has weaker standards and cost less. I would be demanding that my government do something about it. Abbotsford already gets our air pollution, should they be getting our waste too?

Nathan Pachal blogs at sfb.nathanpachal.com

I am a resident of Langley City. I moved to the Lower Mainland after completing school to work at a local television station. Langley was the ideal place for me to be located due to the location in the Valley and its connection to our past and its land. Walking in the downtown core or strolling through Portage Park reminds me of the community I grew up in, Vernon. Langley City and the whole South of Fraser is a special place, and it is a place I want to see protected even as it grows. Ensuring that we are connected with our environment and urban form is something of great importance to me. That is why I advocate for sustainablity development.