An unlicensed waste processing facility in Delta, B.C., has been ordered to pay $110,000 after pleading guilty to two offences, according to Metro Vancouver.
The regional body had taken Basran Industries Ltd. and Basran Fuels Ltd. to court after Metro inspectors observed the facility taking in municipal waste in October 2019 and October 2023. The government said it informed the companies multiple times that it needed a licence to do so.
When the facility didn’t comply, Metro Vancouver said it resorted to prosecuting the companies under the municipal solid waste and recyclable material regulatory bylaw.
The bylaw is set up to ensure those who take in waste and recycling across the region are adhering to environmental standards. Metro Vancouver oversees those standards across the region through its regulation of air emissions, sewer discharges and solid waste facilities.
There are currently 39 licensed private waste processing facilities in the region providing services that help meet regional waste reduction and recycling goals, according to the regional body.
The two sanctioned companies are privately owned and largely process wood waste at a facility on the south bank of the Fraser River south of Annacis Island.
The companies received the material from a number of sources, including sawmills; the commercial shipping, transport and retail sectors; and from construction, demolition and landscaping activities, a spokesperson from Metro Vancouver said.
Metro Vancouver said it learned that wood waste was ground up and then transported to a number of locations where it was used as fuel.
The court order requires the companies to remove the material from sections of their property by June 30, 2025, according to the regional body.
None of the tonnages were reported to Metro Vancouver and it’s not clear how much material passed through the facility.
Editor's note: This story has been updated from its original version.
