Hartland landfill
The Hartland landfill is the waste disposal site for the city of Victoria, British Columbia and the Greater Victoria area. It was purchased by the Capital Regional District in 1975 and has been directly operated by its Environmental Sustainability Department since 1985. It is located in the District of Saanich on top of a hill, between Victoria and Sidney, at the end of Hartland Avenue. There is a public waste drop-off area, a recycling centre, a household hazardous waste collection facility and an electricity generating station that utilizes landfill gas as a fuel source. It has won several international environmental awards.[1] At current disposal rates it is estimated that the landfill will be full by 2045.
Cycling, Hiking, Tours & Sights
There are varying levels of mountain biking trails for people who wish to use ATB, All Terrain Bikes. These paths are located outside the fenced garbage disposal and processing areas. The cycling, or hiking areas have park signs and water hose stations to clean cycling equipment . The mountain bike and hiking trails are in the land areas within the Mount Work Regional Park boundaries.
Abundant birds in the Hartland area include raven, bald eagle and several species of hawk.
The CRD conducts public tours of the Hartland landfill facility, on the subject of waste management, recycling, and capture of waste gas as a supplementary source of electricity generation .
History
The Hartland landfill started as a private dump site in the 1950s. The Hartland landfill was bought by the Capital Regional District in 1975. As it began to fill up, construction began on phase two in 1997. This involved blasting out the side of a rock face and covering phase one with dirt and vegetation. This procedure is still taking place. In 2003 the Hartland landfill installed an electricity generating station, to create electricity from the methane gas that was being collected from the decomposing refuse. This generating station now creates 1.6 megawatts of electricity, enough to power about 1,600 homes. After analysis of its garbage composition, the landfill found that 30 percent of its garbage was organic in nature. This has resulted in calls for local food waste collection and composting, which is currently done in some of the region's municipalities either as a regular service or as a pilot project.
Procedures and policies
The Hartland landfill is a sanitary landfill, which means that it has a comprehensive system of environmental controls and monitoring programs to mitigate its effects on the environment. Landfill gas created by the decomposition is collected by gas wells and is used for generating electricity. Leachate is collected in two lagoons and it is disposed of through the sanitary sewer system.
The landfill has had challenges with the introduction of the non-native species of plants and animals, including the European wall lizard. The Hartland landfill operating bylaw prohibits scavenging of any kind. This is due to safety liability. The Hartland landfill gives free public tours.