Construction and demolition waste fees rise

Tipping fees for construction and demolition waste increased at the beginning of the year, but few people seem to be aware of the hike.

Augusta Recyclers Inc. raised the fee from $200 to $205 a tonne, a 2.5 per cent increase. On April 2 last year, the fee increased by 21 per cent, going from $165 to $200 a tonne, which, at the time, was the same as the tipping fee for mixed waste.

On July 1, 2012, the Powell River Regional District increased the solid waste tipping fee to $205 a tonne.

Craig Long, president of Augusta, said construction and demolition waste fees were raised because of increasing costs. “It’s very similar to why the fees for the regional district went up,” he said. “The material goes to the exact same place.”

The waste is shipped to a landfill in Rabanco in Washington state.

Cost increases are an “unfortunate reality” currently, Long also said.

Long believes a memo was posted in the weigh scale shack at the site notifying users of the rate hike. “Because it was a small increase, we didn’t think it was as important,” he said. “We put a memo up, we let some people know, but maybe we didn’t appreciate we had to go full-court press.”

While the regional district sets the tipping fees for mixed waste, tipping fees for construction and demolition waste are listed in an agreement between the regional district and Augusta for the processing and sale of recyclable materials.

The regional board passed a resolution in December 2012 to extend the three current contracts with Augusta for solid waste management services and to have them all expire in unison on December 31, 2013.

Augusta is able to reasonably raise the price of construction and demolition material with notification and an explanation to the regional district, said Al Radke, chief administrative officer. “I have discovered that they may have been perceived to be lax in their notification obligations,” he said. “Research concluded that this has occurred on two occasions of note with the current manager of community services.”

Augusta wrote a letter on May 10, 2012, notifying the regional district that it was raising the tipping fee for construction and demolition waste, more than a month after the hike came into effect.

The regional district has contacted Augusta and reminded them of their requirement to notify, said Radke. “Their financial controller is scheduled to meet with the regional district to discuss the issue,” he said. “Unfortunately, from a compliance perspective, there is no penalty clause in the contract for the regional district to use in case of them not notifying or fulfilling their obligations. This whole concern of them raising prices will certainly be addressed in future contracts.”