- Hartland landfill
The Hartland landfill is the waste disposal site for the city of
Victoria, British Columbia and theGreater Victoria area. Since 1985, it has been run by theCapital Regional District environmental services. It is located on top of a hill, between Victoria and Sidney, at the end of Hartland Avenue. There is a recycling centre, a sewer solid waste collection, hazardous waste collection, and an electricity generating station. It has won international environmental awards. [Hartland Landfill Site Rehabilitation [http://www.civicinfo.bc.ca/practices_innovations/capital_hartland_forest.pdf] ] It is predicted to be full by 2045.Cycling, Hiking, & Tours
There are varying levels of
mountain biking trails for people who wish to useATB , All Terrain Bikes. These paths are located outside the fenced garbage disposal and processing areas. Thecycling , orhiking areas have park signs and water hose stations to clean cycling equipment [http://www.tourismvictoria.com/Content/EN/191.asp] .The
CRD conducts public tours of the Hartland landfill facility, on the subject ofwaste management ,recycling , and capture of waste gas as asupplementary source ofelectricity generation [http://www.crd.bc.ca/waste/hartland/index.htm] .History
The Hartland landfill started as a private dump site in the 1950s. At that time it was completely unregulated and this has remained a nagging problem for Hartland’s current environmental contractors, because that garbage is still there. The Hartland landfill was bought by the Capital Regional District in 1985. 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 bought an electricity generating station, to create electricity from the methane gas that was being collected by underground tubes. This generating station now creates 1.6 megawatts of electricity, enough for 1,600 homes. After analysis of its garbage composition, the landfill found that 30 percent of its garbage was organic. This has put into motion a procedure for local food collection, which is currently in pilot project status.
Procedures and policies
The Hartland landfill is a dry landfill, which means that once garbage is dumped into the site, called the active face, it is covered on top with rocks and dirt. This solves some environmental problems, (including
seagull overpopulation) although it slows the decomposition process. Methane gas created by the decomposition is collected into tubes and used for generating electricity.Leachate is collected in a reservoir and treated before being put into the sewer system.The landfill has had problems with the introduction of the non-native species of plants and animals, including the European wall lizard. The Hartland landfill does not allow scavenging other than paint materials. This is due to safety liability. The Hartland landfill gives free public tours.
References
* [http://www.crd.bc.ca/waste/hartland/index.htm http://www.crd.bc.ca/waste/hartland/index.htm]
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