Cache Creek landfill gets extension

The provincial government has authorized an expansion of the Cache Creek landfill, allowing the site to operate for another 18 months.

The announcement comes after the province pledged in its throne speech last week to make the international export of garbage illegal.

That forced the Metro Vancouver board to seek an alternative to its plan to send the region's garbage to Washington.

Environment Minister Barry Penner said the expansion is a temporary fix as a long-term solution is sought.

"The Environmental Assessment Office is reviewing another proposal, a much more significant one, to expand the size of the landfill significantly, which would add another 15 to 20 years of life to that facility," he said.

Penner said a decision of that magnitude would take months of review.

The Cache Creek landfill, near Kamloops, has been taking garbage from Metro Vancouver, Powell River and the Thompson-Nicola region for the past 20 years.

It was originally expected to be at capacity by the end of 2010.

The extension will see the landfill stay open until 2012.