Rural Municipality of Gilbert Plains - PARC Regional Waste Management

The Rural Municipality of Gilbert Plains is taking the lead in this study on behalf of Parkland Agricultural Resource Coop Ltd. (PARC) - an economic development group consisting of 10 municipal partners. Currently, municipalities within the region are operating aging landfills that are at, or near, the end of their life span; are incompatible with surrounding land use and future development considerations; and present concerns with respect to environmental contamination and the health and safety of residents. In this regionally coordinated waste management feasibility study, conditions at existing landfills will be investigated, multiple waste management options to increase waste reduction and diversion in the region in the form of recycling and composting programs will be assessed, and possible locations for a new Class 1 regional waste disposal facility that meets environmental regulations and provides services to encourage waste reduction and diversion will be evaluated. Environmental benefits include the potential of increasing waste diversion by 45 per cent. Reducing the number of existing landfill sites will lessen the possibility of contamination to surface/groundwater and soils. In addition, project partners estimate that a composting program will reduce GHG emissions from the site. They also expect that GHG emissions will be lowered further by transportation efficiencies created by regional cooperation on waste management.