BC Government's Commitment to a Province Wide Strategy to Manage Construction and Demolition Waste

It was moved and seconded 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.