Waste management in Clayoquot Sound is a challenge, particularly for remote communities with limited waste handling and management capabilities. Recycling is limited in the region as a whole. Isolated recycling initiatives are underway but they are constrained by financial resources. The District of Tofino has a $50,000 recycling budget. Recycling is picked up along with garbage. The District of Ucluelet discontinued its recycling program due to financial considerations. The Ucluelet Recycling Committee (Ucluelet Recycles) has since been formed. The group recycles paper and cardboard on a volunteer basis. The Community of Ahousaht collects returnables for delivery to Tofino.

Ahousaht Recycling Photo: K. Vodden

There is a recognized need for increased regional cooperation in order to pool resources and improve recycling services. A project is currently underway to develop a regional recycling program, form a regional recycling Society and secure a site for stockpiling recyclable wastes until prices warrant their sale.

Ucluelet Recycles presents the following potentially revenue-generating ideas for re-use of the region's waste stream:

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• Styrofoam box manufacturing from recycled plastics for fish farm product
• Supplying worm composting kits for residential use
• Large-scale community composting to supply topsoil to the district and other buyers
• Wood waste disposal/recycling
• A second-hand store (Re-Store)
• Used paint exchange
• Charge local businesses (e.g. $100 pr mo) to remove their cardboard (businesses save on dumpster lease, tipping fees and moving charges)
• Renting out cups, plates and cutlery for functions
• Glass blowing
• Small-scale glass jar manufacturing
• Used oil recycling
• Selling used magazines
• Collection of dry-cell batteries

However without an industrial waste audit, it is difficult to accurately assess the possibilities for viable business opportunities associated with the waste stream. At this time, the Ucluelet recycling project does not include an audit as one of its objectives.

Several of the smaller ideas above might be combined and taken on by a regional recycling group as revenue generating activities (e.g. cardboard pickup, dishes rental, composting kit supply, selling use magazines and the restore-s). Two of these ideas are reviewed in more detail below: thrift stores and the use of industrial waste (combining a number of the items listed). Both require further research and energy (human resources) to pursue further.

Thrift/Re-Use Stores: Depending on the size and type of waste stream and the demographics of the potential consumer market, there are a variety of Thrift Store/Re-Store models to be considered. On one end of the spectrum is the 'Free Store' and at the other is a full spectrum staffed store that operates like a regular retail outlet.

Free Stores are usually located at or near the town dump or waste transfer station. With the objective of diverting items from the waste stream, Free Stores are designed to make products that are considered useable available for 'take away'. Most often, Free Stores concentrate on redirecting heavy or bulky items, including useable appliances, motors, furniture and mattresses. Their operation is dependent either on people voluntarily placing their useable items on location for others and/or on a system of sorting waste in bins prior to disposal. Examples of the Free Store model can be found in the Cowichan Valley and on Saltspring and Gabriola Islands. The Cowichan Valley Regional District has employed, with considerable success, a Free Store system for the past two years at their regional waste facility for car parts and small motors. Islands Trust has encouraged its' Gulf Island residents to establish Free Stores to help offset the high costs of shipping waste off the islands.

Thrift Stores are a common feature in many small towns. Volunteers may operate them and use the revenue stream to support charity activities or they may be established as a private, for-profit business. In both cases, the store's inventory is dependent on local residents donating their used clothing, furniture and house wares for resale. People make donations for a variety of reasons, including an interest in supporting the cause that the thrift store represents and/or an interest in making their own small contribution to waste reduction by diverting what they consider saleable. Some of the larger and more profitable Thrift Stores have established 'pick up' systems to make the option of donating as simple as possible.

The largest island Thrift Store operations on Vancouver Island include:

• Value Village, a multi-million dollar US corporation with retail outlets, modeled like a multi-product chain store, across BC; and
• Good Neighbours Thrift Stores, a cooperative business that until 2002 operated slightly smaller multi-product stores in Courtney, Nanaimo, Duncan, Langford and Victoria

The success of the Thrift Store model, regardless of its' size, is the quality of goods that are available for resale and the area consumer's interest in shopping reused rather than new. In communities where there are fewer options for retail shopping, Thrift Stores tend to be more successful. The rise of 'big-box' stores (e.g. Liquidation World, Walmart and Winners) in medium-sized towns has definitely increased the competition for Thrift Store operators in more recent years. The ability of these sales-options to offer, in one location, a wide range of new rather than 'reused' goods for lower retail prices makes the Thrift Store option less appealing for some shoppers and less viable as a business in some locations. E-Bay and other on-line auction options has also impacted Thrift Store sales.

The Alert Bay Thrift Shops Alert Bay, a small island community of less than 1,500 people, has two thrift stores: one on reserve and one in the neighbouring municipality. One is volunteer run by the Ladies Hospital Auxiliary, the other staffed through social assistance programs. The volunteer-run facility grosses $1000/mo in sales and is open two days per week (5 hours total). Their key expense is rent at only $250/mo., including utilities. Approximately five truckloads of soiled material are taken to Vancouver per year to Welfare Industries. A local delivery trucks charges only $30 per load. The Village of Alert Bay picks up goods that not saleable at no cost. All profits go to Hospital Auxiliary (min $700 per mo).

In the face of this market competition, some Thrift Store operators are moving into specialty inventory that is only available second-hand (e.g. antique furniture, collectibles, china, estate sales, jewelry, vintage clothing, old music). Others have shifted their emphasis from retail storefronts to Internet marketing in an attempt to broaden their consumer-base.

One of the biggest challenges in the Thrift Store business, ironically enough, is waste management. To break down items that cannot be sold requires time, energy, marketing expertise and transportation resources often beyond the scope of small operators. A percentage of all donated items (some retailers suggest up to 50% of what they receive), will not resell and must ultimately be discarded. The bottom end of the thrift store food-chain for used clothing is the rag-trade - a multi-million dollar international business that wholesales used clothing to Third World countries and shreds material for stuffing and automotive rags. Rag traders purchase used clothing for pennies a pound, sort it in huge warehouses in the Lower Mainland and ship to thousands of destinations for a wide variety of uses.

Used furniture can be dismantled for salvage wood. Hard plastics (toys, car seats, house wares) can be collected and reconstituted into wood siding and decking. Construction and renovation projects may also yield useful materials for this purpose. Some of these items are also likely to find their way into the arts and crafts businesses.

Applying these lessons in Clayoquot Sound, a reuse system could include a Free Store at the central recycling site for larger items (appliances, potentially furniture) along with reuse/thrift store options in both Tofino and Ucluelet. For smaller items such as clothing and toys many potential users don't have their own vehicles and shuttle bus service is sporadic. Facilities in these two communities would provide some access for the other First Nations communities, although discussion should take place between the regional recycling initiative and individual First Nations about their needs and preferred approaches to the re-use store concept. Given limited availability of lower-end clothing for cash-strapped service industry workers, or of a mechanism for reuse of children's clothing and goods, there should be a ready market in Tofino for such a store. Beyond childrens' clothing supply might be a greater problem, however. The largest issue will be finding low-cost space.

The success of the initiative will also be dependent on the ability to garner volunteer involvement and commitment. The municipality may be willing to provide space and/or an existing NGO may be willing to house and run the facility as a fundraising venture. There is reportedly already a part-time store in Ucluelet. Opportunities for development of this program will have to be locally determined. With the goal of regional cooperation and coordination in mind the regional initiative may want to develop some form of shared inventory system so that all three facilities (two community re-use stores and the Free Store if added as an additional facility) can track what is available (perhaps available on-line for customer browsing). Other than for large items, however, this is likely to be too labour intensive in data entry given the low cost inventory.

Industrial Waste

Three potentially significant of industrial waste have been identified in the region: restaurant waste, fish waste (farm morts, fish offal) and wood waste. A fourth is biosolids associated with sewage treatment. While not an industrial waste in the typical sense, a large percentage of the sewage load from Tofino and increasingly Ucluelet comes from the tourism industry. Sewage treatment and management is an ongoing issue in the region. The District of Tofino is hoping to have a facility in place within the next three years, while Ucluelet has a simple primary system that sometimes becomes overloaded.

In a sustainable society, there can not be net accumulation of any type of waste. Natural ecosystems maintain matter in continuous cycles powered by capture of solar energy. 'Wastes' from each link in ecosystems form the raw resources for subsequent links ... otherwise they will inevitably contribute to increasing pollution loads as well as wastage of resources. - The Natural Step 2002

Tofino generates approximately 80 million gallons of sewage waste each year. This matter has potential to be converted into useful material.

Approximately 6-7% of the average municipal waste stream by weight is food waste. Given the high number of restaurants in the area serving the tourism industry the percentage can be expected to be significantly higher. Seasonality has a significant impact on waste generation, which increases from one truck per month in the winter to two trucks per week! Research shows that businesses with food waste diversion programs can reduce their solid waste production by 33-85%. Options include: food donations, rendering of fats and meats, animal feed and composting.

Little is known about fish waste in the region, except that the fish farm industry produces fish "morts" and the fish processing facilities produce fish offal as a by-product of their operations. The offal from at least one of the Ucluelet plans is reportedly sent out of the region for fish/animal feed.

In Kautzen, Austria 23 farmers have formed a cooperative to operate a district heating network using wood chips gathered from the farmers' forests. The chips are dried with the help of a solar facility. The network delivers heat to 80 users. Conversion to heat and power is planned. Insulation improvements for energy efficiency were also made.

Waste wood consists of a mix of bark, wood, tops, including branches present at road sides, yarding slash and dry land sorts as well as sawdust, small wood pieces, shavings etc. from value-added producers. Wood waste is also produced in construction projects. Interviews suggest that local forestry and wood-related operations are disposing of their wastes in range of ways, from burning onsite to trucking it away for hog fuel, to making bark mulch for local companies and sawdust for horses. A "stump dump" storage location was closed due to concerns about its location and impacts on water supply.

Several options have been identified that could utilize a number of these streams in one or more processes. They include: co-generation (energy production), large-scale composting, fertilizer, wood pellet and/or biodiesel production. Each is described to some extent below. Deciding on the "best and highest use" will depend on an assessment of the waste streams and the relative costs and benefits of each of the alternatives.

Composting:

Fertilizer Pellet Production: A Scoping Study to Identify BC Communities for Eco-Industrial Pilot Projects (2002) conducted by Tracy Casavant of Eco-Industrial Solutions Ltd. identified Tofino as one of a group of four communities (along with Comox, Richmond, West Kootenay Boundary Region) considered to be in the strongest position to showcase eco-industrial projects. These communities were identified both because they have a 'greener' approach/potential and many have already begun to integrate existing projects or policies into their operations.

The District of Tofino's proposed approach was to develop a system that integrates wetland sewage treatment with composting of sewage biosolids and fish processing waste into a non-toxic natural fertilizer developed and operated by a North Vancouver firm (IBR). The addition of restaurant and wood waste may also be an option. Benefits include: reduction in trucking use and costs, reduction in use of fossil fuels, reduced highway use, eliminated fish waste spills and reduced uses of toxic fertilizers. The company's North Vancouver plant processes over 30 tonnes/day of biodegradable food waste and produces over three tonnes/day of commercial production fertilizer. It operates 24 hours/day, 7 days/week. All odours are contained, collected, and treated through bio-filtration and scrubbing. Due to concerns about heavy metals and toxic substances that may be present in sewage, as well as the need for community support, a public education and involvement campaign would have to accompany the project at various stages of its development.

In 2002 the District suggested that initiation of the project was dependent on a feasibility study of the fertilizer plant, cooperation and communication with stakeholders. None of these steps have been taken to date. Also key is the construction of an appropriate sewage treatment system, proposed as a constructed wetland. This infrastructure alternative is more cost effective and environmentally friendly than traditional treatments. Sewage will pass through a pre-screening facility to remove bio-solids, and then remaining wastewater will flow through wetland for treatment. The wetland is an alternative to hauling bio-solids to regional landfill facility. The plan to process bio-solids into marketable goods (e.g. fertilizer) is unique and corresponds with the concept of industrial ecology quoted above.

The composting and pellet production facility is proposed as a public-private partnership between District of Tofino and IBR; the wetland is funded by the District of Tofino and the Canada/BC infrastructure works program. Economic development opportunities arising from availability of the organic fertilizer from the IBR Plant need to be explored. Fertilizer could be used by local forest companies for silviculture or for use by local farmers for producing food for restaurants and lodges or gardeners/landscapers. The facility could also be used to develop industrial eco-tours, an interpretation centre, relevant conference and to tie in Tofino's planned green building for its new town hall a broader green development strategy. Report author Tracy Casavant suggests that Tofino would be in a good position to access funds from Western Economic Diversification, Environment Canada and Green Municipal Enabling Funds (GMEF), which have funded three eco-industrial projects (District of North Vancouver, Town of Hinton, and soon, Richmond. As well the BC Real Estate Foundation, Industrial Research Assistance Program, Sustainable Development Technology Fund and Softwood Industry Community Economic Adjustment Initiative (SICEAI) were suggested as sources.

Municipal sewage sludge may contain heavy metals such as cadmium, mercury, arsenic and lead, as well as organic contaminants like dioxin, PCBs, pesticides and alkyl phenols (detergent agents). These materials pose a health and environmental threat when burned in low-temperature incinerators or released into water. Sludge also contains pathogens, spent pharmaceutical substances, and resistant bacteria strains (potential "superbugs") that survive secondary treatment within in-vessel anaerobic sewage composters. Sheep eating cabbages grown on sludge have developed lesions of the liver and thyroid gland. Pigs have elevated levels of cadmium. Biosolids workers are at risk of exposure to salmonella, shigella, camylobacter, cryptosporidium, giardia and enteric viruses. Some experts have concluded that gasification and high-temperature technologies that capture the methane in sludge for energy generation may be the most environmentally sound disposal methods. However, these are expensive and have mostly been sidelined by public officials who believe that sludge spreading is safe.

A waste audit and feasibility study for this project is critical before proceeding. This would include a tour of the North Vancouver facility and speaking with customers who have purchased the Genica product. The project has not advanced due to time constraints in the District of Tofino office. The potential for making this a regional project should be investigated in the feasibility stage. Concerns about the use of biosolids as fertilizer must also be investigated.[1]

Two recent studies have examined wood waste production and alternative uses for Northern Vancouver Island. The region has five shake and shingle mills, three sawmills and a fir pole producer. Estimated annual wood waste production from these facilities is 36,335 tonnes. Harvesters leave an estimated 153,000 tonnes at roadside (based on 3 million cubic metres per year production) and dryland sorts an additional 141,000[2]. Total production, therefore, exceeds 300,000 tonnes annually. Clearly these volumes are significantly higher than what is available in Clayoquot Sound at current harvest volumes. The North Island region produces over 3 million cubic metres of wood overall each year.

Most North Island operations, particularly larger ones, are currently processing waste into hog fuel and selling that material at roughly break-even costs of production and transport. Others are burning, land filling, producing firewood and composting. Hog fuel is a term for waste wood reduced in size for handling. Hog fuel is an important source of energy for many sawmills and pulp mills. Burning the chipped waste wood material produces steam for heat and electricity.

Findings from a North Island study on alternative uses of wood waste identify additional options (excerpts from Foronomics Consulting 2003 below):

Wood stove pellets:
Cedar sawdust is generally unsuitable for residential fuel pellet furnish. Cedar burns too fast and generates more clinkers than does other species. Wood from salt-water transport would not meet quality standards for salt content. There are currently no pellet plants on the coast, likely due to salt content concerns. Some potential for overseas markets or other commercial fuels exists for pellets from North Island wood waste. An economical minimum volume would consist of about 50 green tonnes per year but any overseas destination would require deep sea loading infrastructure. Downstream local benefits from a pellet plant would have great potential as clean burning lower-cost alternative to conventional fossil fuels or electricity.

Compressed waste wood logs:,br> This product is designed for fireplace/airtight burning and is produced by compressing sawdust or ground wood into small logs. One manufacturer ("Heatlog") requires a minimum of 1000 tonnes/year (three shift basis) of sawdust or ground wood to < 2 to 6mm particle size < 10% moisture content for furnish per extruder unit. Capital cost of each unit is around $90,000. Local markets are not adequate as MacMillan Bloedel's Somas Mill discovered several years ago after installing equipment to produce similar products. They scrapped the venture only months after initial production began. Overseas markets are likely required for this product to be viable for North Island operators. Drying the furnish could be problematic without kilns or a local heat source.

Boilers:
Conventional boiler technology offers many sized systems available with high and low pressure steam outputs or simply hot water. Low-pressure units can supply low-grade heat for area heating, water heating for aquaculture, hydroponics or the hybrid of both, aquaponics. High-pressure systems are generally used for steam turbine power generation and require ticketed steam engineer operators. Steam turbines generally require a large scale of production and fuel volume.

Green house heat, Hydroponics, Aquaponics:
Wood burning heat is currently being used at the green house operation at Sointula. Green houses require heat, light, and increased Carbon Dioxide concentration above ambient air. In addition, they require transportation infrastructure to enable economic marketing. Waste wood produced heat either for power production or direct heating can match sufficient heat energy and CO_ for various sizes of greenhouses. Hydroponics is the culturing of plants in a water / sand / gravel medium as opposed to soil. This allows recycling of water to reduce nutrient loss. Most commercial green houses produce vegetables using hydroponics. By adding aquaculture to this system, commercial warm fresh water fish species such as Tilapia and Catfish can be raised in the water while adding plant nutrients from their waste. A pilot aquaponics operation in Nova Scotia is being supplied with the heat equivalent of approximately 1000 tonnes / year of green hog fuel.

Gasifier:
The Gasifier is a two-stage thermal oxidation system. The system is usually computer controlled and fuel burn rates and energy production can be adjusted to match energy requirements. The flue gas from the gasifier secondary can be used to heat compressed ambient air from a compressor coupled to a gas turbine. The gasifier flue gases are then vented to the atmosphere or can be used for other process heat. The compressed ambient air can be expanded through a modified gas turbine coupled with a generator set for power production. A portion of the exhaust gases is used for the combustion air for the gasifier and the remainder is available as ancillary heat. Gasifiers can also be set up to directly fuel internal combustion engines (converted diesel engines) coupled to generators. By reducing the oxidization in the primary chamber of ambient air, gasifiers can be used to manufacture charcoal and or bio-distillates. Three advantages of gasifiers is their ability to economically operate at smaller scales than steam processes, do so fully automated, and at significantly lower capital cost.

Waste reduction / improved utilization:
North Island shingle sawing operations produce approximately 5 to 10 tonnes / day of "spolts". These are approximately 1" thick by 18" long by 4" to 10" clear cedar and cypress leftover pieces (required to hold the block while cutting). This material is currently being chipped, hogged or burned. Attempts at utilizing spolts have so far resulted in cash losses. Some of the possible products, which could be made from spolts include stakes, craft stock, carving blanks, gift boxes, laminated panels, and shutter stock. Requirements for potential utilization include optimal scale and capitalization, market development, labor cost and infrastructure resolution.

Biofuels: Finally, as discussed in the green energy sector analysis, waste can be converted to biofuels such as methanol, a form of alcohol used as a liquid fuel. Biofuels from low-cost woody biomass can offer higher energy yields at lower cost and environmental impact than other traditional biofuels[3]. Several factors affect whether wood waste, or other waste resources, can be developed feasibly. They include: the amount and concentration of the supply of surplus wood waste; the probability that the supply will continue to be available; the cost of other sources of energy (if waste is being used as energy); and the environmental impacts of collecting and burning (or other types of processing) of wood waste[4].

The Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs reservation in Oregon formed the 'Warm Springs Deposit Products' business, that makes diatomaceous earth fire retardant building products from newspaper by-products, gypsum, casting plaster and cement. The newspaper by-products are from a waste management company in the area. Five years ago two people started the business and as they found a market for fire-proof products the business expanded. It now employs 33 people, produces approximately 9000 panel count each year and generates revenue of approximately $3.5 million each year. The initial costs of equipment are expensive, but the ongoing costs mostly stem from the regulatory certification, as each time they produce a new product there is a strict certification process that costs almost $15000 per certification. There success has largely been due to providing a unique product - making products (mostly doors) that have an extended fireproof time - from the usual 30-60 minute fireproof time to 90 minutes of fireproof time. They have a domestic US market, but have started to sell internationally - particularly in the Philippines and the UK. They contend that international markets will only increase as there is growing demand for up-grading and stricter building codes in tourist destinations. - McIlveen 2003

Many opportunities exist for converting waste into useful products, generating jobs and revenue in the process. The central problem with pursuing any of these ideas is that not enough information is available about the local waste stream. An audit, particularly of industrial waste streams, is required followed by an examination of the business feasibility of these various options and their comparative costs, risks and benefits.

Assessment of the sector by SCED Criteria

Environmental criteria: Reuse and recycling benefit the environment from making the most out of the planet's limited resources. Improved waste management practices should be a central component of a sustainable communities vision for the region. As with all other sectors attention must be paid to energy efficiency and other ecological issues in the processing of waste. These include odour issues, leachate and toxic contaminants in the waste stream.

The 2000 Eco-Industrial Pilot study found that Tofino's proposal for a waste reuse facility proposal integrates several strategies that make it ecologically attractive: material and energy conservation, pollution and toxics reduction, material and energy cycling, green infrastructure (e.g. storm water management, constructed wetlands sewage treatment, transportation planning) and shared services (e.g. marketing, R&D etc). Tofino's proposal itself lists benefits such as reduction in discharge of raw sewage to the ocean; reduction in solid waste; reduction in fossil fuel consumption; reduction in highway resurfacing and reduction in fish waste spills. Further, the wetland sewage treatment system will provide a model for other communities.

Economic criteria: The economic value of waste initiatives requires further examination. Certainly it would appear that volunteer-run thrifts stores are most feasible and that revenue is limited, although useful for a local charity. Revenue and limited job creation potential certainly exists from a selected "best use" processing facility for industrial waste. Initial investment requirements for such a facility are likely to be high. Waste reuse can also have financial benefits for municipalities in the form of extended landfill life.

Social criteria: A thrift store can provide social benefits in the form of access to goods for the under and unemployed. Social costs of industrial waste facilities if not designed properly, on the other hand, can lead to community concerns over odour and unsightliness. Siting a waste management facility in an area with limited land base may prove to be a significant challenge.

Appropriateness for First Nations: First Nations in the region share the need to find solutions to their waste management issues. The location of Reserve communities, however, suggests that a facility constructed to utilize the region's wastes will not be located in Nuu-chah-nulth villages.

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[1] Crittenden, G. 2002
[2] Chittick, J. 2002
[3] UNDP. 2003
[4] BC Hydro 2002

Reports and References:

• Biosolids and Sustainability: An Evaluation using the Natural Step Framework: www.naturalstep.org.uk
• Casavant, T. 2002. Scoping Study to Identify BC Communities for Eco-Industrial Pilot Projects. Prepared for Western Economic Diversification and Environment Canada.
• Chittick, J. 2002. Wood Waste Audit of the Port McNeill Area. Prepared for the Mount Waddington Regional District by Foronomics Consulting Ltd.
• Crittenden, G. Solid Waste & Recycling, December/January 2002
• District of Tofino. Liquid Waste Management Plan.
• Foronomics Consulting Ltd. 2003. North Island Wood Waste Study of Small Operators. Prepared for The Regional District of Mount Waddington.
• McIlveen, K. 2003. Green CED Case Studies from North America's Resource Dependent Communities. Project document.
• UN Development Program. New Opportunities in Energy Demand, Supply and Systems. www.undp.org/seed/energy

Contacts:

• Tracy Casavant, MES, P.Eng. Eco-Industrial Solutions Ltd.
• Ian Howett, District of Tofino
• Ucluelet Recycles
• Clayoquot Regional Recycling Initiative

Websites:

• Coast Waste Management Association http://www.cwma.bc.ca/articles/recyclex.html
• Green Plan for the Food Service Industry http://www.p2pays.org/food/main/intro.htm
• Food for Thought: Waste Reduction in the Restaurant Industry www.p2pays.org/ref/03/02905.pdf
• Institute for Local Self-reliance Waste to Wealth Program www.ilsr.org/recycling/