The landfill is almost full

• At least once a year
• Once in a while
• Never used it

Today’s approx. read time: 5 minutes

$11M landfill expansion coming
The landfill could be full as soon as next October, and nearly $11M has been approved for a contractor to prepare the site’s next phase (“Cell 4”). The Capital Regional District (CRD) told Victoria News that the currently used “Cell 3” which debuted in 2016, has filled up faster than expected due to increased waste from pandemic-era home repairs. 

CRD also seeking new home for biosolids
The landfill also recently reached its capacity for biosolids when the CRD temporarily directed those to Hartland when they couldn’t go to a Richmond kiln as planned. The CRD is looking to send its biosolids to Nanaimo, whose own regional district is reluctant to accept a neighbour’s waste.

New policies aim to cut construction waste
This year the CRD has pursued salvaging incentives that it says can cut waste by a third and extend the landfill’s lifespan to 2100. Those include higher overall tipping fees ($150/tonne) and a Jan. 1, 2024 ban on clean wood followed by a later ban on other wood and homebuilding materials. 

The CRD says almost 50% of 2022’s Hartland waste could’ve been diverted or recycled, and that wood products—mainly from local construction—were the largest category of material.

Victoria alone sends 8,000 tonnes of construction and demolition materials per year. The city’s new “unbuilding” bylaw charges builders $19,500 for certain demolitions, but remits money back to them if they salvage enough wood.

Higher fees for some cruise ship waste
The CRD also decided to triple fees to $500/tonne for the 30% or so of solid cruise ship waste that is deemed “high risk,” which must be buried more deeply at Hartland and takes up about 3x as much space.

Origen Air founder and CEO Susan Rae Blanchet took home gold in the Women in Business Thought Leader of the Year – Business Products category at the Stevie Awards last week.

Launched in 2002, the Stevies are a worldwide professional awards program divided into six categories, one of which is Women in Business.

Founded in 2019, Origen Air was partially inspired by the health challenges of Blanchet’s father, whose work as a civil engineer may have exposed him to toxins. Origen develops air purification systems that combine filtration, sensors, and bioengineered plants—a version of golden pothos developed at the University of Washington.

Origen Air is also up for Startup of the Year at the VIATEC Community Awards.

Read the latest Victoria Tech Journal for this and other local tech and business news.

Like Victoria’s junior football team, the Westshore Rebels, a week earlier, UVic men’s rugby will have to settle for second-best in Canada. The team won silver in the national university rugby tourney, falling to main rival UBC on Sunday by a decisive 7-41 .

UBC racking up a 41-0 lead through 58 minutes until Brendan Kim’s try broke the drought. The Vikes had won their first two tourney rounds, taking the semifinal by a commanding 47-19 [photos], to return to the title game they last reached in 2021.

UVic finishes as expected
UBC and UVic entered the tourney ranked #1 and #2, and UBC has now three-peated as champs. UVic had four tournament all-stars: Owen Kokan, Morgan Di Nardo, Jordy Auger (also Sunday’s UVic player of the game), and Merlin M'Cloud.

A strong fall for UVic sports
Multiple Vikes teams made their national tourneys, and field hockey and rowing repeated as national champions. Meanwhile, fellow Victoria teams came second in their leagues: the Rebels (CJFL) and HarbourCats (West Coast League).