GFL Environmental Inc. in East Ladner is waiting for a decision on its application to Metro Vancouver, under the Greater Vancouver Regional District Air Quality Management Bylaw, for short-term authorization to discharge air contaminants from its existing composting facility.
As a result of a June 19, 2024 Supreme Court of British Columbia Judicial Review ruling of a 2018 Environmental Appeal Board decision, the 72nd Street facility’s current authorization expires on Dec. 19, 2024.
GFL Environmental Inc. has applied for the 15-month authorization until they can apply for a new permit.
Metro Vancouver issued an air quality permit for the operation in 2018, paving the way for a transition to a new fully enclosed composting facility, which was completed in September 2020.
The regional district notes that the permit required that GFL fully enclose their composting facility to reduce odour impacts on the community.
While nu​mbers have decreased since the enclosed facility was commissioned in late 2020, Metro Vancouver says it continues to receive complaints about the facility.
According to Metro, which charts the number of complaints naming GFL/Enviro-Smart as the suspected cause, 145 complaints were made this year, as of September 2024.
The composting facility receives approved organic waste, including food waste, and processes it into nutrient-rich compost and landscaping products such as planting mix and soil mix.
GFL also uses its own products at its sod farm, West Coast Instant Lawns.
Prior to the completion of the facility upgrades, East Ladner residents filed hundreds of complaints with Metro Vancouver about the odour produced by the GFL facility.
