Whereas the landfilling of construction and demolition materials comprises a considerable share of solid waste within the province leading to increased costs for solid waste management and lost opportunities for such materials to be resold, reused or recycled; And whereas the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategys Extended Producer Responsibility Five-Year Action Plan 2021-2026 does not include construction and demolition materials as a priority for their Extended Producer Responsibility EPR program: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM request the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy to add construction and demolition materials to their EPR Five-Year Action Plan to establish a producer responsibility framework that significantly reduces such waste.
Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy The Province recognizes that construction and building demolition is a large source of the waste currently disposed of in landfills. A number of recent updated regional solid waste management plans have included new actions to help address construction, renovation and demolition CRD debris, and the Province is supportive of the innovative approaches adopted by local governments, such as the City of Victoria and City of Vancouver, which are introducing local bylaws to encourage deconstruction over demolition of buildings. Through our collaborative work with the Canadian Council of Ministers of Environment, a new guide was published looking at polices for managing CRD waste. Some actions being taken in BC, such as gypsum and wood waste disposal bans and demolition bylaws, are highlighted as leading actions. The Extended Producer Responsibility EPR Five-Year Action Plan identifies the materials that the Ministry considers the highest priority for bringing into BCs EPR system. The Ministry conducted consultation with a broad range of key partners, and all interested parties about regulating more products for recycling. The feedback informed the priority products categories identified in the Action Plan. CRD waste requires careful consideration when assessing the most appropriate and effective policy tool, which may or may not include EPR. Local government perspectives will be key to any future engagement on this topic.