The Hartland landfill is the waste disposal site for the city of
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. Th ...
and the
Greater Victoria
Greater Victoria (also known as the Greater Victoria Region) is located in British Columbia, Canada, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island. It is usually defined as the thirteen municipalities of the Capital Regional District (CRD) ...
area. The landfill began operating in the early 1950's under private ownership and management. Phase 1 of the landfill reached capacity in 1996, Phase 2 filled in Heal Lake which was drained and was 2.5-hectares. The landfill was later purchased by the
Capital Regional District
The Capital Regional District (CRD) is a local government administrative district encompassing the southern tip of Vancouver Island and the southern Gulf Islands in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The CRD is one of several regional d ...
in 1975 and has been directly operated by its Environmental Sustainability Department since 1985. The landfill, located in the
District of Saanich on the southern slope of Mount Work, between Victoria and
Sidney, at the end of Hartland Avenue is adjacent to Mount Work Regional Park to the west and the Department of National Defence rifle range is located across Willis Point Road to the northeast. To the east and southeast of the site are residential properties. Undeveloped CRD property (about 198 hectares in total) lies to the west and south of the landfill site and is now being used by CRD Parks as a mountain bike recreation area under a land use agreement (memorandum of understanding). Private residential properties exist to the east and southeast of the landfill.
There is a public waste drop-off area, a recycling centre, a household hazardous waste collection facility and an electricity generating station that utilizes a small amount of
methane gas
Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The relative abundance of methane on Eart ...
as a fuel source under contract with FortisBC. It has won several international environmental awards. At current disposal rates it is estimated that the landfill will be full by 2045. The CRD’s draft November 2020, Solid Waste Management Plan calls for the expansion of the Hartland landfill and the removal of 73 acres of trees in order to allow for the continual dumping of waste by expanding the existing life of the landfill to 2100.
Cycling, hiking, tours and sights
There are varying levels of
mountain biking
Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...
trails for people who wish to use
ATB
André Tanneberger (; born 26 February 1973), better known by his stage name ATB, is a German DJ, musician, and producer of trance music. According to the official world DJ rankings governed by ''DJ Magazine'', ATB was ranked No. 11 in 2009 and ...
, All Terrain Bikes. These paths are located outside the fenced garbage disposal and processing areas. The
cycling
Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...
, or
hiking
Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...
areas have park signs and water hose stations to clean cycling equipment. The mountain bike and hiking trails are in the land areas within the Mount Work Regional Park boundaries.
Abundant
birds
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
in the Hartland area include
raven
A raven is any of several larger-bodied bird species of the genus ''Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between "crows" and "ravens", common names which are assigned t ...
,
bald eagle
The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...
and several species of
hawk
Hawks are bird of prey, birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica.
* The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. Th ...
. The area is a sensitive ecosystem home to 16 species at risk including the Western Screech-owl and Painted Turtle. The CRD's current plan to remove 73 acres of Douglas fir forest and sensitive eco-systems in the Mount Work area is unacceptable to many living in the community. This particular forest stores 180 tonnes of carbon a year - an offset equivalent to taking 195 cars off the road every year. Over the 50 year extension of the proposed Hartland landfill, carbon emissions would be increased by 9000 tonnes. This amount is inconsistent with the CRD's overall goal of making the region carbon neutral by 2050. Alternatives to outdated 19th century landfilling exist and are used in many countries around the world.
The
CRD conducts public tours of the Hartland landfill facility, on the subject of
waste management
Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal.
This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitoring ...
,
recycling
Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the p ...
, and capture of waste gas as a supplementary source of
electricity
Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described ...
generation.
[http://www.crd.bc.ca/waste/hartland/index.htm]
History
The Hartland landfill started as a private dump site in the early 1950s. The Hartland landfill was bought by the Capital Regional District in 1975. As it began to fill up, construction began on phase two in 1997, filling in Heal Lake. 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 installed an electricity generating station, to create electricity from the methane gas that was being collected from the decomposing refuse. This generating station now creates 1.6 megawatts of electricity, enough to power about 1,600 homes. After analysis of its garbage composition, the landfill found that 30 percent of its garbage was organic in nature. This has resulted in calls for local
food waste
Food loss and waste is food that is not eaten. The causes of food waste or loss are numerous and occur throughout the food system, during production, processing, distribution, retail and food service sales, and consumption. Overall, about o ...
collection and composting, which is currently done in some of the region's municipalities either as a regular service or as a pilot project.
Procedures and policies
The Hartland landfill is a sanitary landfill, which means that it has a comprehensive system of environmental controls and monitoring programs to mitigate its effects on the environment. Landfill gas created by the decomposition is collected by gas wells and is used for generating electricity.
Leachate
A leachate is any liquid that, in the course of passing through matter, extracts soluble or suspended solids, or any other component of the material through which it has passed.
Leachate is a widely used term in the environmental sciences wher ...
is collected in two lagoons and it is disposed of through the sanitary sewer system.
The landfill has had challenges with the introduction of the non-native species of plants and animals, including the
European wall lizard
''Podarcis muralis'' (common wall lizard) is a species of lizard with a large distribution in Europe and well-established introduced populations in North America, where it is also called the European wall lizard. It can grow to about in tota ...
.
The Hartland landfill operating bylaw prohibits scavenging of any kind. This is due to safety liability. The Hartland landfill gives free public tours.
References
http://www.crd.bc.ca/waste/hartland/index.htm
{{coord, 48.538148, N, 123.463368, W , display=title, region:CA_type:landmark
Landfills in Canada
Victoria, British Columbia