VANCOUVER, B.C.: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) today called on Metro Vancouver to abandon its plan to build a $500 million waste incinerator, divert both trash and recycling materials to that incinerator, and prevent private contractors from collecting and sorting waste.

“Metro taxpayers, living in one of the most expensive areas in Canada, cannot afford a waste incineration plan that could double waste tipping rates,” said Jordan Bateman, the CTF’s British Columbia Director. “Waste costs $107 per tonne to get rid of right now, but that could jump to $200 per tonne if Metro gets it way, adding to every tax bill in the region. This bloats bureaucracy and eliminates the benefits that outside competition brings.”

At a Metro Vancouver Zero Waste Committee Thursday afternoon, more than a dozen waste industry experts and stakeholders told the committee that a proposed flow-control policy would kill private sector investment and raise taxes. Metro tipping fees have already shot up 60 per cent since 2006. If rates jumped to $200/tonne, as Metro staff reports suggest it will to fund an incinerator, that’s an extra $100 million in taxes paid by Metro Vancouver residents.

“Follow the money: this plan isn’t about reducing waste, it’s about gouging taxpayers to build a shiny new incinerator,” said Bateman. “The private sector is willing to build and fund advanced recycling facilities which would save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, but Metro seems more interested in empire building.”

A 2010 C.D. Howe Institute report found that private sector competition keeps waste costs lower for taxpayers: “Municipalities with fully contracted waste services have substantially lower average costs per household than municipalities with few of their services provided through contracts.”