Victoria city councillors are calling for an increase in the fees charged to dump garbage from cruise ships at Hartland Landfill.
The city’s committee of the whole passed a motion Thursday asking the Capital Regional District to amend its “tipping” fees and directed Mayor Lisa Helps to write other mayors and councils asking for their support.
Coun. Ben Isitt, who raised the issue, said the region seems to be receiving a significant amount of the garbage generated by the cruise ships that visit Ogden Point each year.
“We’re not a home port and yet for some reason, we seem to be bearing the brunt of a substantial downside of the industry,” he said, noting the impact on roads, the environment and landfill space.
Isitt acknowledged that the intention of his motion aims “to create a bit of a deterrent to try to shift the price signal somewhat, so that something less than all of the waste is being disposed of in this region.”
He noted that the CRD charges $157 per tonne of international solid waste, compared to Prince Rupert’s fee of $205 per tonne.
The CRD said Thursday that solid waste from cruise ships accounts for about 150 tonnes of the 10,000 to 12,000 tonnes of waste received at Hartland each month in the summer.
“We already differentiate it and charge $157 a tonne, as opposed to $110 for general waste,” CRD spokesman Andy Orr said in a statement. “This is because we are not sure of content and so deal with it in a more controlled way.”
Coun. Geoff Young was alone in opposing Isitt’s motion, noting that it follows earlier attempts by council to put a cap on cruise-ship visits until waste and pollution issues are resolved.
“Now, we want to pass another motion where we’re saying: ‘We don’t really know exactly what this fee should be. We think other regions have higher fees. But we want you to raise it,’ ” Young said.
“I think that will be perceived as something that indicates, or confirms, unfortunately, a general attitude of lack of receptiveness and even hostility towards this industry, which is an industry that a lot of regions would love to have.”
But councillors Jeremy Loveday and Marianne Alto said it’s reasonable to ask the CRD to take a look at the tipping fees.
“I don’t see this is hostile to the industry at all, either,” Loveday said. “I think this is trying to make sure that our tipping fees are normalized and aligned with other jurisdictions, so that there’s not a benefit to tipping more garbage here than is in our capacity to take.”
Ian Robertson, chief executive officer of the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority, said in an interview that less than one per cent of the garbage deposited at Hartland each year comes from cruise ships.
“I think Victorians and all CRD residents could really learn from the steps that cruise lines are taking,” he said.
“I’m quite proud of the fact that 90 per cent of all the waste created by the cruise lines is diverted away from the landfill. I would hope that we, as residents, could be as efficient as that.”
Robertson said Isitt’s motion on its own won’t send a negative signal, but he worries about repeated initiatives that take aim at the cruise-ship industry.
“It’s the quantity, I guess, of negative signals that I get more concerned about,” he said. “Most of it has been around emissions and waste management, and again, I think that if mayor and council were to take us up on the many, many invitations we’ve extended for them to come down and take an environmental tour, I think they’d be more informed.”
