Biosolids are the dried residual of sewage sludge generated from a waste water treatment plant, such as McLoughlin Point in Esquimalt, BC.

Biosolids contain toxic chemicals and micro plastics which do not break down in the environment – hence their name, ‘forever chemicals’. In the US, manufacturers of these chemicals face multi-million dollar lawsuits due to the contamination of drinking water.

The province of British Columbia requires beneficial use of such biosolids which involves either land application through a special composting process or thermal destruction.

In 2011, the CRD Board in Greater Victoria, under pressure from local citizens, placed a ban on land application of biosolids across the entire region. In 2018, without public engagement, the CRD Board lifted the ban to allow biosolids disposal at the Hartland Landfill.

The region contracted with LaFarge Cement plant in Richmond, BC to use the dried biosolids as a fuel to replace natural gas. However, for a few weeks each year the plant shut down for maintenance. During this time, the CRD Board approved land application of biosolids only at Hartland as a short-term contingency measure.

Unfortunately, the LaFarge plant has been shut down since June 2022 due to technical difficulties, so all biosolids have been dumped at Hartland in contravention of BC Ministry of Environment regulations because their disposal did not meet composting requirements.

In July, the CRD Board considered a motion to allow land application of biosolids across the CRD region to deal with this emergency. Because of sustained public pressure from a number of local citizen groups, the Board made a final decision to maintain the ban.

Local citizens had two concerns over lifting the Hartland ban. First, they demanded that CRD hire an independent scientific team to establish a baseline monitoring program for these contaminants out of concern for the waters in and around the Hartland landfill. Second, they asked for an independent scientific and legal review of best practices for regulating ‘ forever chemicals’ world-wide and if there was a potential legal liability associated with land application of such toxic substances. This August, the CRD Board approved both motions.

Creatively United will provide updates on public progress to establish a thermal destruction demonstration pilot plant at Hartland as the best possible outcome for safely dealing with toxic biosolids.

Thermal destruction eliminates all ‘forever chemicals’, can reduce carbon emissions from waste management and potentially removes municipal and demolition waste from the landfill.

Public input matters. Stay tuned for how you can get involved and influence CRD Board decisions.