With supply chains affected by COVID-19, the Regional District of Nanaimo is procuring some of its own materials to permanently close off part of the Cedar landfill.
Sections of the RDN garbage dump are at end-of-life, Jane Hamilton, RDN superintendent of disposal operations, told the solid waste management committee at its June 7 meeting.
The closure process involves putting in place a cap to secure greenhouse gas and divert rain to storm water systems, limiting water seeping through the landfill, stated a staff report.
At the meeting, the committee endorsed recommendations to award Secure Energy a $1.8-million tender for the work, direct staff to buy the necessary support accessories and increase the project budget by more than $940,000 to a total of $3 million.
Hamilton detailed why the RDN wants buy some materials, telling the committee that by the time it awards the project and establishes a contract, it can issue a purchase order and get a month lead time in.
“It’s more of the big, heavy geosynthetic liner that we are looking to purchase,” said Hamilton. “It’s an expensive item, but essential for the project to go ahead, so we’re looking to purchase that in advance and supply it as the owner. And we do get good rates. It was a competitive process.”
Ben Routledge, manager of solid waste services, said the pandemic has taught the RDN it is better to approach projects conservatively and build in contingencies.
“That’s why we’ve increased the budget on this to provide the leeway should we need to procure any materials or should those materials come in at a higher price then what we originally budgeted for,” Routledge said.
The project will be beneficial, Hamilton told RDN directors.
“It will really help with any gas-related odour issues, improve the esthetics of the site, and it’s an area that we’re not going to put any more garbage, so it’s a good project to complete,” Hamilton said.
The recommendations will go before the RDN board at a future meeting.
READ ALSO: RDN to vote on conceptualizing $4.5M remediation plan at landfill
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