Central Okanagan recycling carts have nearly 3 times the allowable level of contaminants

Local governments in the Central Okanagan are facing some costly financial penalties from Recycle BC.

That includes a total of $55,000 in penalties to the City of Kelowna and City of West Kelowna in the last quarter of 2022.

The Regional District of Central Okanagan says there will be more fines unless residents improve their curbside recycling habits.

Waste audits conducted by Recycle BC show that contamination in Central Okanagan curbside recycling carts average around 8%, which is nearly three times the allowable levels of 3%.

According to the RDCO, recycling is considered contaminated when material that isn’t accepted for collection under provincial guidelines ends up in carts.

“Garbage doesn’t belong in your recycling cart,” said Travis Kendel from the RDCO. “When the Regional District finds unacceptable items, we provide education. If there is a lot, we’ll refuse to collect the cart. Despite our best efforts, contamination still gets through and there is a cost to that.”

Kendel noted that it’s encouraging to see that most residents do their best to follow recycling guidelines, but there are still unacceptable items being tossed in carts.

That includes things like books, scrap metal, plastic toys, plastic bags and glass.

“Last year, hundreds of carts were left at the curb, not picked up due to excessive contamination. Nearly 10,000 carts had contamination that required education material to be provided to the resident,” added Kendel.

“This year we plan to advance our enforcement strategy. We’re going to leave more carts behind, pursue more fines for violators and continue to put responsibility on the resident to keep garbage out of recycling.”

According to the RDCO, the most common recycling contaminants are:

• Household garbage
• Scrap metal
• Durable plastics such as laundry baskets, toys, tarps and garden hoses
• Books
• Construction material
• Textiles such as clothes, shoes, bedding and pillows
• Hazardous waste such as electronics and propane tanks
• Depot only material such as plastic bags, Styrofoam, glass and other flexible plastic packaging

To learn more about what you can put in your curbside recycling cart, click this link.