In recent years it was a flooding issue. This year, it's the environmental code that is the hot topic for REACT Waste Management District (REACT).After finding a solution toward dealing with the flooding at the current landfill site south of Humboldt, REACT thought things might be under control for a while. Then the provincial government issued its new Environmental Code in January 2012.Changes to the code and what will be expected of landfill stations and transfer station sites were extensively covered by REACT CEO Wendy Yaworski at its annual meeting, April 10, at the Uniplex in Humboldt."The new environmental code is going to affect rural Saskatchewan," Yaworski told the Journal after the meeting. "A lot of these smaller towns and villages are not going to be able to afford what they are asking to come up to code."One of the big changes in store is the requirement of a "Qualified Person" for any work to be undertaken. This means, Yaworski explained, having someone on staff who has the qualifications required to draw up plans and to be able to carry out a project, such as an engineer. It also states that smaller communities will be expected to adapt to the code, or they will have to shut down their landfills. "The communities that are involved in a regional authority like REACT are positioned way better to handle this new environmental code than if you have a town or village on its own," said Yaworski. "Otherwise, it's going to be just too costly for them to try to get their landfill up to what is laid out in the code."The year 2011 also marked the 16th anniversary for the REACT District. Chairman Leon Fleischhacker announced at the meeting that, on the whole, it had been a successful year for the organization. In his chairman's report, Fleischhacker covered the highlights of what had been achieved in 2011, including completing most of the cleanup at transfer stations, the acquisition of a new front load truck that arrived early in 2012, and permission from Saskatchewan Environment to lower the level of Joe Lake inside the landfill - a necessary step in the future operating plan for dewatering the Humboldt landfill."The board is happy to announce we accomplished this without acquiring any debt," Fleischhacker said in his report, "and we managed to finish the year with a small surplus."The chairman also noted there would be no fee or levy increases for 2012.Still the question of whether or not REACT will sign a contract with Loraas Recycle to buy all of REACT's recycling in the future hangs in the air. "If we were to reach an agreement with Loraas, we would like from them a guaranteed minimum tonnage so that we know that we have a certain amount of revenue coming in from the program," said Yaworski. She says that the price per tonne of products is dependent on the volatility of the market, which is why REACT tries to ship its recycling products when the market is high. In its statement of operations, waste revenue accounted for over one million dollars ($1,164,296) for 2011, up by about 15 per cent over the 2010 figure of $909,741.Yaworski says REACT wants to make sure it secures an agreement for the highest possible rate by the Saskatoon-based recycle company, as well as having the freight charges covered."If we don't have that in place," added Yaworski, "I don't believe the board would move forward, because we would be losing quite a bit of revenue."The bottom line, says the CEO, is that everybody should really try to use the three Rs: reduce, reuse, recycle.At the end of the meeting an election was held for two board members.Dick Blechinger of Muenster was elected for Ward 2 Urban, and Roger Hofmann of the RM of St. Peter was elected for Ward 2 Rural.
