That Council submit the following resolution and backgrounder to the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities for consideration at the 2021 Annual General Meeting and Convention:
BC Government’s commitment to a Province Wide Strategy to Manage Construction and Demolition waste
Whereas construction and demolition (“C&D”) waste comprises approximately 2.8 million metric tonnes of materials annually in British Columbia (“BC”), and about one-third of municipal solid waste disposed in the province; and,
Whereas the materials disposed could have been resold, reused or recycled, they represent sources of embodied carbon, and deconstruction provides six times more job opportunities; and,
Whereas recent research in just Metro Vancouver suggests the value of salvageable wood at $343 million annually, and the addition of other materials and other regions would radically increase this number of value;
Therefore be it resolved that UBCM request the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy develop a plan, including changes to regulations, provincial procurement policy, and economic and industrial policy, to significantly reduce Construction and Demolition waste.