The goal of the solid waste regulatory program is to ensure proper management of privately operated municipal solid waste facilities. Privately operated municipal solid waste facilities in the region are regulated by Metro Vancouver’s Municipal Solid Waste and Recyclable Material Regulatory Bylaw No. 181 as amended by Bylaw No. 183 (the Bylaw).

The Bylaw, as well as Licenses issued under the Bylaw, specifies operating requirements so as to protect the environment and public health, protect the region's land base in accordance with the host municipality's zoning and land use policies, ensure that regional, municipal and private facilities operate to equivalent standards, and achieve the objectives of the regional Solid Waste Management Plan

Under the Bylaw, licences are required for the following types of privately owned facilities:

• Disposal Facility: any land or buildings and related improvements used for the landfilling or destruction of municipal solid waste,
• Material Recovery Facility: any land or building and related improvements used for receiving municipal solid waste or Recyclable Material and at which materials are separated manually or mechanically for the purpose of recycling,
• Transfer Station: any land or buildings and related improvements at which municipal solid waste from collection vehicles is received, compacted or rearranged for subsequent transport,
• Composting Facility: any land or buildings and related improvements where municipal solid waste is composted on a commercial basis using composting technology which may include physical turning, windrowing, in-vessel static pile aeration or other mechanical handling of organic matter,
• Storage Facility: any land or buildings and related improvements where municipal solid waste or Recyclable Material is accumulated and held and in respect of which there is no clear and convincing evidence that all the municipal solid waste or Recyclable Material will be recycled in the near future, and
• certain types of Brokering Facilities: any land or buildings and related improvements used for receiving, cleaning, sorting, baling or packaging Recyclable Material for the purpose of recycling, where the residue does not exceed 10% by weight or volume of the material received.

To obtain a licence a proponent must complete the appropriate application and submit it along with the required application fee to the Solid Waste Manager here at Metro Vancouver. There are several types of licence application forms and information sheets available, depending on the nature of the solid waste facility, as listed above. They can be found in the Resources Section on this page.

Metro Vancouver also maintains a list of solid waste licences currently in effect. As of October 2011, 40 licences are in effect that cover many aspects of the handling and management of municipal solid waste and recyclable materials at private facilities including transferring, material recovery, brokering, composting and disposal.

If you would like further information about Metro Vancouver's Solid Waste Regulatory program, please contact us by phone at 604-432-6200 or by email at regulationenforcement@metrovancouver.org