The Hartland landfill is the waste disposal site for the city of Victoria, British Columbia

Victoria, British Columbia

Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...

 and the Greater Victoria area. Since 1985, it has been run by the Capital Regional District environmental services. It is located on top of a hill, between Victoria and Sidney

Sidney, British Columbia

Sidney is a town located at the northern end of the Saanich Peninsula, on Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is one of the 13 Greater Victoria municipalities. It has a population of approximately 11,300. Sidney is located just east of Victoria International Airport,...

, at the end of Hartland Avenue. There is a recycling centre, a sewer solid waste collection, hazardous waste collection, and an electricity generating station. It has won international environmental awards. It is predicted to be full by 2045.

Cycling, Hiking, & Tours

There are varying levels of mountain biking

Mountain biking

Mountain biking is a sport which consists of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, using specially adapted mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain.Mountain biking can...

 trails for people who wish to use ATB

ATB

ATB may refer to:*The US Reorder tone is often referred to as an ATB, for All Trunks Busy*Active Time Battle system is a feature of role-playing games*Mountain bike is an off-road bicycle...

, All Terrain Bikes. These paths are located outside the fenced garbage disposal and processing areas. The cycling

Cycling

Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...

, or hiking

Hiking

Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...

 areas have park signs and water hose stations to clean cycling equipment http://www.tourismvictoria.com/Content/EN/191.asp.

The CRD

CRD

-Organizations:*Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, health research institute based at the University of York*Cock Rock Disco, record label*Conservative Research Department, central part of the organisation of the Conservative Party...

 conducts public tours of the Hartland landfill facility, on the subject of waste management

Waste management

Waste management is the collection, transport, processing or disposal,managing and monitoring of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and the process is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics...

, recycling

Recycling

Recycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...

, and capture of waste gas as a supplementary

Supplementary

The term supplementary can refer to a number of things:* Supplementary angles* Supplementary Benefit - a former benefit, payable in the United Kingdom* Supplementary questions asked during Prime Minister's Questions...

 source of electricity

Electricity

Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...

 generation http://www.crd.bc.ca/waste/hartland/index.htm.

History

The Hartland landfill started as a private dump site in the 1950s. At that time it was completely unregulated and this has remained a nagging problem for Hartland’s current environmental contractors, because that garbage is still there. The Hartland landfill was bought by the Capital Regional District in 1985. As it began to fill up, construction began on phase two in 1997. This involved blasting out the side of a rock face and covering phase one with dirt and vegetation. This procedure is still taking place. In 2003 the Hartland landfill bought an electricity generating station, to create electricity from the methane gas that was being collected by underground tubes. This generating station now creates 1.6 megawatts of electricity, enough for 1,600 homes. After analysis of its garbage composition, the landfill found that 30 percent of its garbage was organic. This has put into motion a procedure for local food collection, which is currently in pilot project status.

Procedures and policies

The Hartland landfill is a dry landfill, which means that once garbage is dumped into the site, called the active face, it is covered on top with rocks and dirt. This solves some environmental problems, (including seagull overpopulation) although it slows the decomposition process. Methane gas created by the decomposition is collected into tubes and used for generating electricity. Leachate

Leachate

Leachate is any liquid that, in passing through matter, extracts solutes, suspended solids or any other component of the material through which it has passed....

 is collected in a reservoir and treated before being put into the sewer system.

The landfill has had problems with the introduction of the non-native species of plants and animals, including the European wall lizard

Wall lizard

The common wall lizard is a species of lizard with a large distribution in Europe and well-established introduced populations in North America, where it is also called the European wall lizard. It can grow to about in total length.-Identification:The common wall lizard is a small, thin lizard...

.
The Hartland landfill does not allow scavenging other than paint materials. This is due to safety liability. The Hartland landfill gives free public tours.