Find new site for RDOS compost

Open letter to Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen:

I write to express renewed concern regarding the haste with which the RDOS continues to pursue locating a regional compost facility within some unwilling local communities.

While I agree that it is a necessary infrastructure build, I find that the present process has pitted communities against each other as they strive to say no.

There remain many unanswered questions about costs, function of physical plant, contracting out/control, and end product.

Much is made of the financial return of this material being sold as organic compost, which it can be called only as the components are organic by virtue of being carbonbased.

Therefore, growers of organic crops would not purchase or fertilize with a product that is not truly organic in origin.

Waste is an infrastructure issue no different than any other growth and development issue such as water, roads, sewerage, and more.

The time has come to manage our waste streams in a more environmentally responsible manner and it is also time to seek the input of all levels of government for regulatory consensus and a proper funding formula.

Communities regularly apply for and are awarded infrastructure grants from senior levels of government.

It is not only my opinion that there is political currency and legacy merit in building a state of-the-art facility in a location that will never cause adverse impacts to taxpayers or to the environment.

The present sticking point for this project appears to be a location where it will cause the least amount of irreversibly negative impacts on established communities.

This may mean you must call on the federal government for a lease of Crown land at a rate amenable enough to offset increased transportation costs. Patricia Hill Summerland