Waste Diversion Rate

Following a substantial community effort and many years, Whistler has an updated Official Community Plan and Vision (OCP) that sets the course for the community into the future. Whistler Council adopted the OCP at its meeting June 23, 2020. The new vision and OCP builds on Whistler 2020, Whistler’s previous guiding policy document. Work is underway to align existing community performance indicators with the new vision and OCP. Updated 2019 data will be available in summer 2020.

Waste Diversion Rate

The diversion rate of waste from the landfill increased compared to 2017 with 42% of waste being diverted from the landfill in 2018. These results match 2006 for the Whistler's greatest diversion rate.

Why monitor this

Solid waste takes up land, emits greenhouse gases, and among other things can leach harmful materials into the surrounding environment. Recycling, one of the "Three R's" following reduce and reuse, is one strategy employed to limit the impacts of waste, and to conserve virgin material stocks such as aluminum.

What this measures

This indicator represents the estimated proportion of materials recycled and composted through the municipal solid waste management system and/or collected at the bottle depot. The measurement also includes materials sent to the Re-Use It and Re-Build It Centres. Yard debris, land clearing composted materials are not included in the figures since 2008 due to the highly variable nature of land clearing due to firesmart programing.