Langley-based Super Save Disposal Inc. has been fined $145,000 for operating an unlicensed waste handling facility in Port Kells, the second time it’s been convicted under the Metro Vancouver bylaw.
Provincial Court Judge Gulbransen on Jan. 16 ordered Super Save Disposal Inc. to pay the fine to the Greater Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District – one of the legal entities that is part of Metro Vancouver – by Oct. 13, 2014.
Super Save Disposal Inc. – part of the Super Save Group of Companies – was charged with owning or operating a transfer station or a material recovery facility without a valid licence. Super Save Disposal Inc. continued to operate the facility for over 14 months, even after receiving multiple warnings from Metro Vancouver bylaw enforcement officers that a licence was required.
After Super Save Disposal Inc. entered a guilty plea, the company and Prosecutor submitted a statement of agreed facts and joint submission on sentencing to the court.
The B.C. Environmental Management Act empowers GVS&DD to make bylaws to regulate the management of municipal solid waste and recyclable materials.
Under the Municipal Solid Waste and Recyclable Material Regulatory Bylaw, no person may own or operate in the Metro Vancouver region a facility that collects, transports, handles, processes, stores, treats, utilizes, or disposes of municipal solid waste or recyclable materials unless that person has, and strictly complies with, a licence.
According to the statement of agreed facts, a Metro Vancouver bylaw enforcement officer conducted a number of site inspections, between Feb. 3, 2012 and April 9, 2013, at a Super Save Disposal facility located at 19388 92nd Avenue in Surrey.
The enforcement officer observed numerous bins stored on the four-acre site – some containing household items, construction and demolition waste, as well as salvaged materials such as metals, wood, and tires. Concrete, granite and brick rubble were also being accumulated and applied to the ground at the Super Save facility.