Mountain View County council has passed a motion approving a plan by Mountain View Regional Waste Management Commission to bring in waste from outside the district for processing at the Didsbury landfill.
The move came during the recent regularly scheduled council meeting.
Commission chair Mary Anne Overwater and Mountain View County councillor Patricia McKean appeared before council as a delegation to give details of the plan.
"We are looking to bringing in 15,000 tonnes of waste to our landfill," said McKean. "Bringing in this extra waste we can decrease our residents' waste (costs) to $85 a tonne (from $115). We would be able to do this while keeping our expenses similar. This would be a year-to-year agreement. If it is not working we would not be continuing it.
"We have been approached by a company that would guarantee the 15,000 tonnes. One of the things with that company is they would basically bring in two super-B truckloads a month so it wouldn't have a huge traffic impact. It would be just two big dumps a month."
The Didsbury landfill currently has 25 years of space left, she said.
"This is a large improvement due to the new cover plates we are using as well as the reshaping we've done to the engineering plans for the landfill," she said.
The motion approved by council read as follows:
"That Mountain View Regional Waste be able to accept outside material to a maximum of 15,000 tonnes per year, subject to an annual review."
In a Gazette interview, Overwater said earlier that, "The reason we want to do that is so we can reduce the tipping fees for the municipalities. If we bring a maximum of 15,000 extra tonnes of waste, that adds quite a difference in our revenue and then we will be able to decrease the tipping to our municipalities."
The waste being brought in could include construction and demolition waste, she said.
"It's not going to be detrimental to anybody or the commission or the municipalities," she said. "It is just going to make it a little easier so that when they pay the tipping fee it is only $85 a tonne instead of $115."
The towns of Sundre, Olds, Didsbury and Carstairs have already approved similar motions.
The Village of Cremona is expected to consider a motion this week.
"This would be a year-to-year agreement. If it is not working we would not be continuing it."Patricia McKean
