B.C. needs to do more to reduce waste: Vancity credit union study

A new study by Vancouver City Savings Credit Union says British Columbians need to be doing more to reduce their waste.

According to the Vancity study, every person in Metro Vancouver throws out around 1,400 kilograms of waste per year, the equivalent weight of a mid-sized automobile.

In Metro Vancouver, 20,000 tonnes of clothing are disposed of each year, making up two per cent of the region’s garbage.

Perhaps most troubling is the amount of food that goes to waste.

“Roughly a third of all the food that’s produced does not get eaten,” Andrew Marr, solid waste planning director with Metro Vancouver, said. “It’s a huge amount.”

Construction debris makes up a large proportion of the solid waste in the region.

“Renovation produces less waste than demolitions,” Marr said. So if you have a choice please look at renovation.”

Out of all the municipalities, Delta fates the worst.

Morgan Beall with Vancity doesn’t know why.

“I don’t know what’s going on there,” Beall says. “I can’t say for certain what it is that’s causing one municipality to be stronger than another in the way that it wastes.”

Lions Bay produces the least amount of waste.

The study says most of the garbage comes from construction sites, but one-third comes from residential homes.

“But our report isn’t about pointing fingers, it’s about trying to get a handle on the situation so we can make improvements,” Beall says.

It’s not all bad, as B.C. produces the least amount of waste of all other provinces, except for Nova Scotia.

— With files from Catherine Urquhart