City fined for our blue-bin mistakes

Kelowna and West Kelowna were fined $55,000 by Recycle BC because homeowners are putting too many non-recyclables in their blue bins.

Waste audits conducted by Recycle BC show contamination in the region’s curbside recycling carts average around 8%, above allowable levels of 3%, the Central Okanagan regional district said in a news release.

“Garbage doesn’t belong in your recycling cart,” said Travis Kendel, manager of engineering services, in a news release. “When the Regional District finds unacceptable items, we provide education and 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. In the last quarter of 2022 a total of $55,000 in penalties from Recycle BC were applied to the City of Kelowna and the City of

West Kelowna.”

“There’s still unacceptable items being tossed in the carts,” Kendel said. “Last year, hundreds of carts were left at the curb, not picked up due to excessive contamination. Nearly ten thousand carts had contamination that required education material to be provided to the resident.”

More carts will be left behind this year if they have too many of the wrong materials,

Kendel said. Fines could be issued as well.

The most common items thrown in blue bins that shouldn’t be there are: household garbage, scrap metal, durable plastics such as laundry baskets and garden hoses, books, construction material, clothing, hazardous materials such as electronics and propane tanks, and plastic bags, styrofoam and glass, which should go to a recycling depot.