Capital Regional District communities could see a bylaw to build from when it comes to keeping more demolition materials out of the landfill.
Pitched by director Colin Plant, also a Saanich councillor, the CRD Environmental Services Committee agreed on Feb. 19 to develop a model bylaw for demotion waste and deconstruction that could serve as a foundation for other interested jurisdictions. Plant suggested the Victoria bylaw, implemented in September 2022, could serve as a model.
Spurred by recent conversation in his home community, Plant felt a regional bylaw might be the approach.
The goal is to divert wood from the landfill, ensuring it lasts as long as possible and that resources are repurposed and reused.
Director Jeremy Caradonna, a Victoria councillor, noted one-third of that city’s waste comes from home demolition. In the last two years, the “successful program” saw 200 tonnes of construction diverted, he added.
Committee decisions are recommendations to the CRD board, which meets next on March 12.
