POLICY REPORT
FINANCE / ENVIRONMENT

Date: July 8, 2000
Author/Local: Paul Henderson 946-8049
RTS No. 01629

CC File No.: 3757

T&T: July 25, 2000

TO:	Standing Committee on Transportation and Traffic
FROM:	General Manager of Engineering Services
SUBJECT:	Vancouver Landfill: Receipt of Demolition Materials

RECOMMENDATION

A. THAT, subject to the conditions described in Recommendations B through E below, the City enter into an agreement for the provision of demolition materials for the construction of roads and other landfill infrastructure projects at the Vancouver Landfill.

B. THAT, subject to the conditions set out in Recommendations C through E below, an agreement be entered into with Pacific Blasting & Demolition Ltd., and that, if an agreement satisfactory to the Director of Legal Services and the General Manager of Engineering Services cannot be concluded with Pacific Blasting & Demolition Ltd., an agreement be entered into with such other third party which

(i) provides, in the opinion of the General Manager of Engineering Services, the best value to the City, and

(ii) satisfies the conditions outlined in Recommendations C through E below.

C. THAT all legal documentation is to be in a form which is satisfactory to the Director of Legal Services and the General Manager of Engineering Services.

D. THAT once the form of all the documentation has been approved by the Director of Legal Services and the General Manager of Engineering Services, the Director of Legal Services be authorized to execute and deliver such documentation on behalf of the City.

E. THAT no legal rights shall arise and no consents, permissions, leases or licences are granted hereby and none shall arise or be granted hereafter unless and until all contemplated legal documentation has been executed and delivered by all parties.

F. THAT Council delegate to the Director of Legal Services and the General Manager of Engineering Services the standing authority to enter into agreements for the provision of demolition and other waste materials for the construction of roads and other landfill infrastructure projects at the Vancouver Landfill where such agreements will provide, in the opinion of the General Manager of Engineering Services, revenue to the City, provided that where, in the opinion of the General Manager of Engineering Services, the estimated revenue from such an agreement will exceed

(I) $300,000 per year, or
(ii) $300,000 over the term of the contract,

such proposed agreement will be referred to Council.

G. THAT the Director of Legal Services be instructed to bring forward an amendment by-law for enactment by Council substantially in the form attached as Appendix "A".

COMMENTS

POLICY

There is no City policy with respect to contracting for the receipt of waste materials for which the City of Vancouver receives revenues.

The City of Vancouver supports the 1995 Regional Solid Waste Management Plan, which includes a 50% waste reduction goal for all municipal solid waste including demolition materials.

Council awards purchasing contracts exceeding $300,000.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this report is to recommend the award of a contract to Pacific Blasting & Demolition Ltd. for the supply of demolition materials for the construction of roads and other infrastructure at the Vancouver Landfill. The report proposes setting a policy for dealing with similar contracts in the future. The report also proposes changes to the Solid Waste and Recycling By-law.

BACKGROUND

The City of Vancouver accepts demolition and construction type waste at the Vancouver Landfill and Vancouver South Transfer Station under the provisions of the Solid Waste and Recycling By-Law on an ongoing basis. Demolition and construction type wastes include wood, roofing materials, insulation etc. These materials are disposed of along with residential and commercial solid wastes.

Periodically, Vancouver requires demolition type wastes for the construction of a mattress layer under the garbage at the Vancouver Landfill. The mattress layer acts as a construction base for the landfill as well as a drainage layer to convey leachate to the perimeter leachate collection system. Vancouver sets detailed specifications for the demolition type wastes to meet the requirements for the mattress layer. The material must be a minimum of 80% wood, and insulation, carpeting, plastics, recyclables, and other soft construction waste must be removed.

Prior to 1993, when required, demolition type wastes for the construction of the base layer were accepted free of charge. Since 1993, as disposal costs increased, when required, these demolition type wastes have been accepted for a fee.

Vancouver has been receiving demolition type wastes for the construction of a base layer continuously since 1997. Vancouver has now completed construction of the base layer. In the future, because the footprint (area occupied by garbage) of the landfill will not increase, Vancouver will only require demolition materials for the construction of roads and other infrastructure. The demolition materials replace materials such as gravel and recycled concrete that must be purchased.

For the construction of roads and other infrastructure, only a limited amount of demolition type wastes are required, but similar to other construction materials used at the Landfill, a relatively secure, continuous supply is required.

DISCUSSION

To meet the City’s ongoing requirements for demolition type wastes for infrastructure purposes, at the end of May, the City Engineer issued a request for quotations for the supply of the material. The request for quotations sought the provision 30 to 50 truck loads per week of demolition type materials for a six-month period.

A total of 7 quotations were received. Quotations ranged from $300 to $535 for a tridem trailer load of demolition material. A tridem trailer load is approximately 60 cubic metres of material. The City is currently receiving a tridem trailer load of demolition material for $200. Demolition waste for infrastructure purposes is accepted at volume based fees rather than on a weight basis because the industry standard is to charge on a volume basis.

The quotations were higher than the current price because of two market changes. By reducing the amount of material the City is receiving and issuing a request for quotations the market price for the material has increased. Also, a facility in the Fraser Valley that was previously receiving demolition type wastes at low prices has been effectively closed.

The high quotation was received from Urban Woodwaste Ltd. and Best Bin Rentals Ltd. They quoted $535 for a tridem load and $401 for a tandem trailer load (approximately 45 cubic metres). Due to the dynamic nature of the demolition industry, irrevocable quotations were not sought. Urban Woodwaste Ltd. and Best Bin Rentals Ltd. have withdrawn their quotation. We therefore recommend acceptance of the next highest quote from Pacific Blasting & Demolition for $425 per tridem load and $350 per tandem load.

In the event that an agreement satisfactory to the Director of Legal Services and the General Manager of Engineering Services cannot be made with Pacific Blasting & Demolition Ltd., the General Manager of Engineering Services would enter into a contract with the proposer providing the next highest quotation or best value to the City.

Demolition and construction materials will continue to be received at the Landfill and Vancouver South Transfer Station under the provisions of the Solid Waste and Recycling By-law.

In addition to demolition type wastes, there are other waste materials that are used and could be used for infrastructure purposes at the Landfill. For instance, automobile shredder fluff (the residue after automobiles are shredded) could be used for temporary roads and as cover for municipal solid waste. Ground up demolition type waste can also be used for road construction.

There is currently no City policy with respect of award of revenue contracts of this nature. The General Manager of Engineering Services proposes that, similar to purchasing contracts, awards up to $300,000 in revenue be made by the City Engineer. Awards for contracts exceeding $300,000 would be referred to Council.

We have previously advised all of the haulers using the Vancouver Landfill that as of July 14 we will stop accepting demolition material at preferential rates. In the interim period between July 14 and when a contract is awarded for the supply of demolition materials, we have advised the haulers that we will accept two loads per company per day. This is a workable short term strategy for reducing demolition quantities coming into the Landfill, but over the longer term would affect the structure of the demolition industry and therefore would be unsatisfactory. During the interim period, we will continue to accept demolition material at $200 per tridem load.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS

There is a general consensus that higher solid waste disposal costs increase the opportunity for companies to develop waste reduction and recycling alternatives. Once Vancouver ceases accepting demolition materials at $200 per tridem load, higher average disposal costs for demolition materials will develop. The City has received feedback from one company operating a transfer and recycling facility that there will be a negative impact on their business due to increased disposal costs, but a more common comment has been that there will be an increase in recycling activity.

A potential negative impact would be an increase in illegal dumping due to increased disposal costs. Increased illegal dumping has occurred over the last number of years due to increased waste disposal fees and reductions in residential can limits. Increased illegal dumping may occur regardless of what process is used to reduce the amount of demolition material received at the Vancouver Landfill. Processes are in place in all of the municipalities in the Greater Vancouver Regional District to manage illegal dumping.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

The proposed contract will result in revenues of approximately $500,000 for the six-month period of the agreement. This is somewhat reduced compared to current revenues as quantities will be reduced by about a factor of three and per load revenues will increase by a factor of approximately two.

LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

The award of a contract for the provision of demolition materials for construction of infrastructure at the Vancouver Landfill does not contravene the 1995 GVRD Solid Waste Management Plan, the draft Operational Certificate for the Vancouver Landfill: MR-01611, nor any of the City’s existing agreements with the GVRD and Delta governing the operation of the Landfill.

UPDATING THE SOLID WASTE AND RECYCLING BY-LAW

Finally, as a minor administrative matter, the General Manager of Engineering Services suggests that the Solid Waste and Recycling By-Law, be updated by amending it as follows:

(a) The first line of Section 3 of Schedule “A” be amended as follows:

“3. Disposal of solid waste as solid waste for waste purposes other than as provided for in Sections 1, 2 and 4:”

(b) The prohibited materials list for the landfill and transfer station be formally included as part of the by-law by adding a new section 7.4:

“No person is permitted to dispose of anything described in Schedule “E” at the Vancouver Landfill on Benson Road in the Corporation of Delta or at the Vancouver South Transfer Station at 377 West Kent Avenue North in Vancouver.”

The draft text of the amending by-law is attached as Appendix “A”.

* * * * *

APPENDIX A

DRAFT TEXT FOR PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO SOLID WASTE AND RECYCLING BY-LAW

BY-LAW NO. _________

A By-law to Amend By-law No. 7832,
being the Solid Waste and Recycling By-law

THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF VANCOUVER, in open meeting assembled, enacts as follows:

By-law No. 7832 is amended as follows:

1. Schedule A Amended

The first line of Section 3 of Schedule A is deleted and replaced with the following:

“3. Disposal of solid waste as solid waste for waste purposes other than as provided for in Sections 1, 2 and 4:”

2. New Section 7.4

A new Section 7.4 is added as follows:

“7.4 No person is permitted to dispose of anything described in Schedule “E” at the Vancouver Landfill on Benson Road in the Corporation of Delta or at the Vancouver South Transfer Station at 377 West Kent Avenue North in the City of Vancouver.”

3. New Schedule E

By-law No. 7832 is further amended by adding a new Schedule E as set out in Schedule A to this By-law.

4. Effective Date

This By-law shall come into force and take effect on August 1, 2000.

DONE AND PASSED in open Council this ____ day of July, 2000.

_______________________________
Mayor

______________________________
City Clerk

SCHEDULE “A”

Prohibited Materials

The following wastes are prohibited from disposal at the Vancouver Landfill and Vancouver South Transfer Station:
· Hazardous (including pathogenic and radioactive) wastes.
· Special wastes as defined by the Special Waste Regulation of the Waste Management Act.
· Liquid wastes and sludges.
· Explosive substances.
· Chemicals or other materials which may create hazardous working conditions
· Inflammable materials.
· Materials hot enough to start combustion.
· Automobile bodies or boat hulls.
· Waste oil, petroleum by-products or used oil filters.
· Dead animals and animal parts (including bones, feathers, skin, hair, nails and teeth).
· All forms of excrement.
· Barrels, drums, pails and other large liquid containers, whether full or empty.
· Lumber, timber, logs, etc., longer than 3.6 meters (12 ft).
· Solid objects larger in cross section than 3500 cm² (3.8 ft²) if longer than 2.5 metres (8 ft).
· Fabricated objects wider or thicker than 1.2 metres (4 ft) and longer than 2.5 metres (8 ft).
· Any contaminated soils as determined by the City Engineer
· Coated or uncoated wire or cable in excess of 1% by weight of any load.
· Tires.
· Commercial loads of dry cell batteries.
· Any other material deemed by the City Engineer as unacceptable for disposal at the Vancouver Landfill or Vancouver South Transfer Station.

Some prohibited materials may be accepted in small quantities for recycling.

(c) 1998 City of Vancouver