Barriere resident Chris Frezell has been an employee with the District of Barriere for many years. He has worked his way up at the municipality, and says he always wanted to work in as many different departments as possible so he could really understand what it takes to run a town.
Currently, Frezell is employed as an Environmental Service Specialist for the district, this means a good part of his job is related to recycling and cutting down on unnecessary waste that is going into landfills from the community. He truly has a passion for recycling, and especially for saving the environment from something humans can control if they take the time to put out a little extra effort before they throw everything into a black garbage bag.
Frezell is a firm believer that “people can make a difference”. In a recent interview with this newspaper Frezell said he was incredibly proud of his community as they have made a difference.
“We got the year end report fro 2021 from Recycle BC and the District of Barriere ended up with the cleanest recycling in the whole province,” told Frezell with a big grin on his face. “We reduced the provincial average by four per cent and we came in at the three per cent contamination target.”
He also explained that Barriere was the last community to join the program, as well as the youngest district to join the program.
“We were the last one to join and the first one to hit the numbers,” said Frezell, “I want to thank all the residents for doing such a good job and keeping the recycling clean and organized. Our town can use a little boost, and this is a positive that everyone has helped contribute to after the last two years we’ve gone through.”
Frezell tells that this is the third year the district has been under the Recycling BC program.
Is he the man in charge of that program?
“I’m it for solid waste - all of it,” said Frezell, “And now I’ve got land reserved at the Louis Creek Industrial Park for a potential future compost facility, and that’s what I’m working on now trying to get a compost and organic facility. Then once we get the facility up and running I can establish a curb side collection program.”
Does he have a target date, or is this just the beginning of putting the project into motion?
“It will be awhile,” said Frezell, “I’ve just started working on it. But there are some grants out there to establish it.”
He adds that an audit done on the district’s solid waste side last year produced numbers that show a compost program could potentially reduce tipping by 40 per cent.
What has been instigated in the district’s recycling program that made such a positive difference in the recycling numbers?
“We use clear totes, which is one of the things why we were so successful with the recycling,” said Frezell, “When I am collecting the recyclables from residences I can literally see what is in the tote on approach, and then the stuff that wasn’t supposed to be in the tote I put back in and take only the recyclable items. In that way the residents can physically see what wasn’t supposed to be there, and I also leave them information on how and where what is left can be recycled, which they then do.
How many residences and how many totes does he deal with in the district?
“I service over 1,000 properties, and I think we initially purchased 1500 totes to get us started. Now that we are a couple of years in and recouping money back I can start calling the manufacturers and see if they can make us a thicker clear plastic tote similar to the blue ones.”
How do you recoup money back from collecting recycling?
“We get paid for the materials from recycle BC. In other words we get a piece of the pie, and that’s why I wanted to do this transition, as we weren’t getting anything back with the old mix, everything just went into one bag and we got nothing for it. Now we are getting between $30,000 to $40,000 back to the community.”
How does that money go back into the community?
“Basically it sits in a reserve fund so that we can look at expanding the department and getting into composting – getting us caught up to the 21st century.”
What is the next step now to move towards a composting facility?
“Now that we have the land reserved I’m going to get in contact with Princeton who have a very good compost facility, one of the better ones in the province. I want to see what they have found works for them and what they found didn’t, and also how they approach educating their residents on what can go into the container,” said Frezell. “A lot of the process is educating the people and getting the knowledge out to them. The end goal would be to produce both a class A compost for growing foods, and a class B for ornamental gardening, which would allow us to be able to process bio-solids.”
Frezell says he has been trying to get this project underway for 14 years.
“The district is finally coming around, especially after an audit last year with the garbage and how much we can reduce our tipping fees by actively participating in promoting recycling.”
How did the audit take place?
“Basically the audit is filling up a full cubic meter of garbage bags with our community garbage. Then they pack it all in the bags, and then they haul it away. It is then delivered to a sorting area where somebody goes through what was inside each of those garbage bags, and then they sent me a breakdown of everything that was in the bags.”
What are some of the items that people are throwing away that they shouldn’t be throwing away?
“Some of it right now is because we don’t have the infrastructure in place to collect it from the residences. The biggest items are Styrofoam, soft plastic like grocery bags, and glass. Those are all recyclable materials that I am not allowed to collect under the Recycle BC program with the municipality. Residents have to take those items to the Eco Depot, but a lot of people are just stuffing it in black bags as garbage. Forty-three per cent of it is organics, such as food waste being thrown away in black garbage bags. The bulk of that 43 per cent could be composted.”
Can the rest of those items be recycled?
“There is a bunch that can be recycled, and then there is some that is just waste,” said Frezell, “Most importantly for our planet, a large portion of it doesn’t need to be taking up space in a landfill and creating methane gases.”
Frezell says he’s really “into this process of recycling. We’re even taking samples of bio-solids at the sewer plant and sending them to the lab to get analyzed so we can figure out a way to compost the bio-solids, but there are toxins and other stuff that we have to get rid of before it can go into compost. Right now we are putting together all of the data that we collect.
“I’m also starting to study and learn in school for water and wastewater as well, which is where I have always wanted to work. I want to work every department and then finish in water to end my career, and someday I might make the jump into politics as having learned the municipality from the ground up I think I could provide very good input. Believe it or not, this little town can be a leader of the world. I feel that over the next few years we’ll be put back on the map.”
Editor’s note: The tote provided to District of Barriere residents for recycling collection is clear and an approved size for curb-side collection, so it is necessary to use that tote. If residents wish to use an additional container, it will need to be clear, an approved size and display the recycling logo/sticker which can be purchased at the District of Barriere Office. Other specifications may also be required so residents wishing to use an additional container will need to contact the District of Barriere office by calling 250-672-9751
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