Skip to content

The Town of Lake Cowichan eyes up Area F's film plastic pilot project

Town council hopes to follow Area F's lead and begin pick-up of pesky film plastic no longer accepted by waste disposal company.
32634lakecowichanplasticsweb
In early autumn

Area F’s film plastics pilot project is a topic of interest to council, who recently approached Area Director Ian Morrison to talk more about it.

One questions asked was the final destination of the film plastics, grocery bags and other plastic waste that is how deposited at locations in Honeymoon Bay and Mesachie Lake.

Council heard that the plastics that are picked up from the two locations are then baled and sent to Victoria for processing. Beyond that, the final destination is unknown.

There is interest in the pilot program and how well it works. Council members mentioned complaints from residents that the lack of waste pick up is unacceptable. Residents are upset that they are responsible for dropping plastics at Bings Creek when they currently pay for waste management.

In light of these concerns, the Public Works Committee expressed interest in creating their own film plastics program modelled after the one in Area F, with the Sports Arena being brought up as a possible drop-off location. One councillor suggested the possibility of working in conjunction with surrounding communities as well.

While the idea is still in infancy, the committee agreed that it is an important topic.

“It’s not right that plastic and grocery bags make it into landfill,” said Joe Fernandez, Chief Adminstrative Officer for the Town of Lake Cowichan.

One councillor made the final point that people can take plastic and glass to Bings Creek, but it is an inconvenience and puts the onus on the individual. There was discussion about possibly levying a bag deposit to dissuade use of plastic bags and encourage reuse, but the committee wasn’t satisfied. The councillor finished by saying that he thinks “curb side (pickup) is the answer, but how we get there, I don’t know.”

The committee agreed to continue to research the possibility of a film plastics collection program and discuss it at the next meeting.