Are you putting the right things in your recycling cart? The Regional District will be back on the streets over the next eight weeks, checking to see as part of their ongoing cart education and inspection campaign to combat recycling contamination.
The Director of Engineering Services for the Regional District which oversees the recycling collection contracts for all member municipalities in the Central Okanagan says most residents are doing a good job following the rules for what’s acceptable to put in the carts. But David Komaike says waste audits show there’s still significant contamination going on in our recycling stream, and that’s a big problem.
“Things like garbage, garden hoses, plastic shovels, hazardous waste, electronics, scrap metals, textiles, even yard waste—items that have never been accepted in our recycling program are still showing up and contaminating the recycling stream, says Komaike. “If we don’t significantly reduce and eliminate these unacceptable products from our loads, we face financial penalties from our contractor Recycle BC. We’re close to 15% contamination on average and it needs to be 3% or less. So we need to do a better job, and that requires continuous education and monitoring.”
Komaike says the inspection teams will have a quick view of the contents of the recycling cart, and if they find items that don’t belong they’ll leave a sticker telling you what went wrong. And in some cases, carts won’t be picked up until the offending material is removed.
Here are some of the items inspectors will be looking for:
The Regional District annually inspects over 3,500 recycle carts and sends an average of 2,500 letters directly to residents when the wrong materials are found in the recycling, garbage and yard waste carts – to help encourage compliance in future.
To find out more about what to recycle in your curbside cart or at a depot, visit regionaldistrict.com/recycle, download the free My Waste App, or call the Regional Waste Reduction Office at 250.469.6250.