The Cowichan Valley Regional District will move forward with its plans to expand the three-stream waste collection program into all of its electoral areas in 2025.
That means all eligible households in the electoral areas will begin to be charged $345 a year starting in January, regardless of when they begin receiving the service in the new year.
The board made that decision at its meeting on Dec. 11, but after a lengthy discussion on the controversial issue, board chair Kate Segall made a notice of motion that she intends to bring forward at a meeting in January calling on staff to prepare a cost breakdown of the new three-stream service and its rollout.
She said the board will then have the opportunity to discuss that information before the district finalizes the budget for the program.
But Segall, who is also the director for Mill Bay/Malahat, pointed out that it’s very common for local governments to have start-up costs for programs that are collected in taxes before a service actually begins.
She said that in this situation, the $345 annual fee for the program from the approximately 14,200 participating households in the CVRD’s nine electoral areas that starts in January will cover the costs of purchasing the tote bins, trucks, planning and the hiring and training of the staff for the service.
“Different jurisdictions may collect taxes for six months up to a year and even beyond to prepare for an efficient rollout of a big service like this,” Segall said. “It’s also common for phased implementation. It’s very hard to start a service for absolutely everyone across our regional district at the exact same time. But concerns were raised at the electoral areas service committee meeting [on Dec. 4] that are important to recognize regarding perceived inequities and the burden of the timing of this tax increase alongside of property taxes, and that’s why I’m making the notice of motion for an analysis of these perceived inequities and the timing of the billing.”
As of June, 2025, the CVRD will collect source-separated garbage, food and yard waste, and recyclables, including the separate monthly collection of glass containers, from all eligible households in its electoral areas and Malahat for the first time.
The CVRD currently collects recyclables from eligible households in all of the electoral areas, and garbage from eligible households in electoral areas D, E, F, G and I.
At the EASC meeting on Dec. 4, a number of directors raised concerns about the fact that while all participating households in the electoral areas will begin paying the flat fee for the service as of Jan. 1, a little more than half of the participating households would not receive any garbage collection until June.
At the board meeting on Dec. 11, Ben Maartman, director for North Oyster/Diamond, said the issue is not about the three-stream service not being a worthwhile initiative, which he believes it is. The issue is that residents in his electoral area, and a number of others, will not get the full service until June even though they will be paying for it until then. He said it's a community concern for many.
“In today’s economy, every dollar counts,” Maartman said. “There are some people where even a few dollars makes the biggest difference in their decisions for the month. I think the principle part of it is fairness, and at least the appearance of fairness.”
The motion to begin the service as planned, with each participating household paying an annual flat fee of $345 beginning in January, passed in a vote by the nine electoral area directors, with Maartman, Shawnigan Lake director Sierra Acton and Cowichan Station/Sahtlam/Glenora director Alison Nicholson opposed.
The new curbside service will consist of weekly collection of organics (food and yard waste); alternating, bi-weekly collection of garbage and recyclables; and monthly collection of glass, such as glass bottles and jars.
To prepare for curbside pick up, residents will receive a letter in early 2025 from the CVRD outlining the service details, including key timelines and collection schedule changes.
To learn more about the three-stream service, visit www.planyourcowichan.ca/curbside-collection and subscribe for project updates.
Questions about the program should be directed to the CVRD by phone at 250-746-2540 or email at curbside@cvrd.bc.ca.
