Reducing Waste: Top 5 Tips - CRD Newsletter - October 2020

October 19-25 is Waste Reduction Week!

When it comes to managing the region’s waste we all have an important part to play. With over 400,000 residents living in the capital region and a garbage disposal rate of 380kg per person per year, it is estimated that Hartland Landfill – our region’s only landfill – will be full in about 25 years. The Capital Regional District (CRD) is working to extend the life of Hartland Landfill and we need your help. The simplest way to extend the life of the landfill is by reducing the amount of garbage that each of us throws away.

Whether it’s at home, school, work or on the go, we all make choices that contribute to the amount of waste we create. Pausing to consider where our waste comes from can allow us to make choices that create less waste.  

Here are our top five waste reduction tips:

  1. Think before you buy. The top tip for reducing waste is to reduce the amount of stuff we buy in the first place. Before making a purchase, ask yourself: “Do I need it?”, “Can I buy it used?”, “Is it built to last?” and “Could this item be rented or borrowed from a friend?”

  2. Steer clear of single-use items. Carry a reusable mug and water bottle, bring reusable bags for grocery shopping, pack a lunch in reusable containers, etc. 

  3. Reduce food waste. Make a meal plan and buy only what you know you will use. The average Canadian household wastes 140kg of food per year, that adds up to roughly $1,100 per year!

  4. Feed the land, not the landfill. When you do have food waste, make sure you’re putting it in the right place. Despite being banned from the landfill, organic waste makes up the largest portion of what ends up in the landfill. By composting, or participating in green bin programs, you reduce the amount waste going to the landfill and help create a valuable resource.

  5. Reduce, reuse, and then recycle. Have an item that you no longer want? See if you can donate it. If it’s broken, see if it can be repaired by attending a local Repair Café. If it cannot be donated or repaired, find out if it can be recycled. From textiles to electronics there are many recycling options available in our region. Visit www.myrecyclopedia.ca to find out more. 

Join the conversation. Follow us on Facebook @CapitalRegionalDistrict for more waste reduction tips and the chance to win a prize during Waste Reduction Week - October 19-25.

For more waste reduction tips visit: www.crd.bc.ca/reduce

CRD Newsletter - October 2020 - PDF Version - click here.

Missing Middle Housing & House Conversion Regulations - Updates Related to The City Of Victoria’s Housing Strategy

There are currently two opportunities open for general public feedback. These include:

A Missing Middle Housing survey, open until Monday, October 19

A Public Hearing to consider updates related to House Conversion Regulations, scheduled for Thursday, October 22

For more information and opportunities to provide input on these initiatives, please visit the City’s recently enhanced online engagement tool at: engage.victoria.ca

Engagement

City of Victoria

1 Centennial Square, Victoria, BC 

V8W 1P6

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Victoria/Saanich - Air Quality Health Index & Smoke Forecast Live Map

Here are two excellent resources to gauge air quality:

Air quality rated today - find out your risk :

Victoria/Saanich - Air Quality Health Index

Zoom the live map below to see the degree of smoke over our area:

Canada Smoke Forecast Live Map

Who is at risk?

People with heart and lung conditions are most affected by air pollution.

To find out if you are at risk, consult the health guide, your physician, or your local health authority.

Visit the national AQHI Web site to learn more about the AQHI. 

Did you know...?

Inhaling fine particle air pollution during warm weather may increase the risk of stroke.

Hallmark Heritage Society - Breaking News

The Fraser Warehouse and the Caire and Grancini Warehouse (also known as the Northern Junk Buildings).

The Architect's vision for the Northern Junk Buildings as seen from Wharf and Pandora.

The Architect's vision for the Northern Junk Buildings as seen from Wharf and Pandora.

FACADISM IN OLD TOWN VICTORIA

We have heard that at next week’s meeting of the Committee of the Whole, the Victoria City Council will again consider setting a date for a Public Hearing regarding the rezoning of the Fraser Warehouse and the Caire and Grancini Warehouse (also known as the Northern Junk Buildings).

The question of holding a public hearing had been brought up at the meeting of June 11, 2020 and the Council was not satisfied with the proposal and send it back to the Planning department and the Developer. Council had concerns with the treatment of the historic façade and the developer has now tried to deal with these concerns and has resubmitted the project to the Committee of the Whole.

Unfortunately, neither Council or the developer has dealt with our concerns which are the placing of a four-story modern building on top of two of the oldest buildings in downtown Victoria.

The developer hopes to convince Council that this addition is justified as:

  1. The city will gain 47 rental units. These are not affordable units, as a matter fact, the developer has conceded that these units will be rather expensive due to the waterfront site. These will be market price units

  2. In their proposal, the developer frequently comments upon how, if this proposal is accepted by the Victoria City Council, the heritage building will be restored. This is a heritage designated building that, for the past 10 years, the developer has failed to maintain properly. All heritage designated buildings should be regularly maintained and upgraded. This building has broken windows, water entry, and layer upon layer of graffiti.

  3. The development will allow the extension of the David Foster Walkway. While this is true, such an extension will also benefit the developer as additional access to commercial space will be created in conjunction with the walkway.

In Truth:

  1. The proposal makes a mockery of the City of Victoria Old Town Design Guidelines by placing a four-storey addition on the top of the heritage buildings. The proposal ignores the recommendations for height and set-backs.

  2. The developer states that “Whereas, a typical addition to a heritage building might be smaller in scale, the context of the buildings within the generally 5-storey Old-town fabric suggests that a one or two-storey addition would seem out of scale with the surroundings.”

This ignores the disruptive scale of a four-storey addition on top  of historic one-storey buildings.

  1. The developer wants a height variance. The property sits within the Inner Harbor Heritage District which stipulates that “No building may extend more than 8 m above Wharf Street.” The developer proposes that, for their building, this be increased to 17 m above Wharf Street. Instead of being about 26 feet high above Wharf Street, the developer wants the rehabilitated building to be more than 48 feet high. This is rather a large variance and should not even be considered.

  2. As we all know, there are, along the west side of Wharf Street, buildings of varying heights, a variation that exists throughout Old Town. But each new development of addition to an existing building wants to build up to the maximum thus obscuring the one of tshe defining characteristics of the area – a variance of height.  

Council must send this back to the Planning Department. This site warrants a restoration, not the sacrilege of facadism.

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OLD TOWN A NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE

Even as we express concerns about the proposal for the Fraser Warehouse and the Caire and Grancini Warehouse (also known as the Northern Junk Buildings), the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada has erected a commemoration plaque at Government and Wharf Street honouring Victoria’s Old Town as a national historic site.

The text reads “OLD TOWN VICTORIA. – Old Town took shape during Victoria’s rise to prominence in the mid-19th century when it was an important point and commercial gateway that link the Pacific Rim to the interior of British Columbia. It was built within the Coast Salish territory of the Lekwungem and W̱SÁNEĆ nations, on the grounds of a former Hudson’s Bay trading post. Old Town encompasses the oldest surviving Chinatown in Canada, the waterfront warehouses and wharves that evoke the enterprise and rapid growth that followed the gold rush era, and the richly designed brick buildings that give the old commercial area an air of permanence.”

One of the more popular videos from the Capital Commission is this about another National Historic Site - Chinatown

A commitment to heritage preservation is not facadism. Facadism is merely a token - it almost says history was once here - see the debris left behind. If the building represents our history, if it reflects why the buildings matter, then it is worth saving in its entirety.

Christopher Cheung, 

The Tyee, January 25, 2019