A City team is now conducting random inspections of local recycling and yard waste carts as part of its ongoing efforts to improve our community’s sorting skills.
The Environmental Outreach Ambassadors, hired as summer students, will be using e-bikes to travel the community while conducting audits this summer and will be visibly marked as City staff.
“The goal of the recycle cart inspection program is to understand where residents require additional education about how to dispose of specific items,” says David Kassian, Sustainability Supervisor. “If we notice an item that doesn’t belong, we’ll leave a notice on your cart for educational purposes. The goal is to improve our community’s recycling skills and meet the RecycleBC targets, to ensure we don’t face penalty fees in future years.”
The cart notice provides specific details about the items placed in the cart that are not accepted for recycling. It does not mean your cart will be skipped for collection.
Items not accepted for recycling include hard and soft cover books, glass, clothing and soft plastics. Remember to place all recycling loosely into carts and ensure they are not contained in any bags or boxes.
The student ambassadors will also be at the Farmer’s Market, Downtown Market, and popping up at other events throughout the summer to educate residents on recycling and water conservation measures.
Penticton’s goal is to lower the community’s recycling contamination rate from 8 per cent to 6 per cent or lower by December this year. If the City does not meet its goals set out by Recycle BC, it could lead to increased costs to deliver the program as a result of fines. It may also lead to a less convenient recycling service, such as having to sort everything into separate bins or bags, which has been shown to reduce contamination in other B.C. communities.
For more information on recycling, visit penticton.ca/recycling and try the ‘What Goes Where’ tool, or phone the Recycle BC Hotline at 1-800-667-4321.
