There was a time when garbage dumps, including those in Coquitlam, took just about any waste and tipping fees were next to non-existent.
That is now no longer the case and cities are paying $100 a tonne to dump household garbage at Wastech while private contractors are charged just $80 a tonne.
The cheaper rate for commercial haulers is to stop them from going out of B.C. or out of the region to dump waste where fees could be cheaper, says Metro Vancouver. The regional authority could be out of pocket by millions if it doesn’t give private contractors a break, or so we’re told.
Meanwhile, people who want to dump a mattress or a piece of old furniture that can’t be recycled have to pay through the nose. It costs a hefty $25 (measured per load) to dump the item at Wastech between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on weekdays and $15 on weekends and non-peak hours.
That’s a large chunk of change. It’s no wonder so many people are choosing to dump their couches on the side of the road, leaving the cleanup costs to, you guessed it, the rest of us.
