Are you putting the right things in your recycling cart? The Regional District Recycling ambassadors are back on the streets this spring and summer, randomly checking what’s under the blue lid and inside curbside recycling carts. This is part of the ongoing RDCO cart education and inspection campaign to combat recycling contamination.
Engineering Services manager Travis Kendel says the cart checking program, now heading into its fourth season, has been extremely helpful in raising proper residential recycling awareness. “Through the spring and summer our ambassadors will continue to reach out to residents through direct education and curbside cart checks. We have found direct resident engagement seems to be one of the most valuable and well received educational tools to encourage residents on how to recycle effectively.”
“We understand that sorting waste and recycling can sometimes be confusing. Most residents are doing a pretty good job including only what’s acceptable to put in the carts. But recycling audits show there are still a significant number of unacceptable items going into our recycling stream, especially plastic bags and other plastic films, and that’s a big problem.” says Kendel.
In addition to the cart checks, the ambassadors will also be placing a handy reference guide sticker right on the carts to highlight what goes in and what stays out. Kendel says, when in doubt, don’t toss it in is an important thing to keep in mind, as placing the wrong materials in your cart, things that do not belong or should be recycled at a depot only, leads to a contaminated recycling stream.
“Plastic bags, garbage, books, food waste, garden hoses, electronics, scrap metals, clothing, construction materials, even yard waste—items that have never been accepted in our curbside recycling program are still showing up and contaminating the recycling stream,” says Kendel.
“If we don’t significantly reduce and eliminate these unacceptable products from our recycling loads, we face financial penalties from Recycle BC. We need to do a better job and that requires continuous education and monitoring.”
Kendel says the Recycling ambassadors will have a quick look at the contents in recycling carts, and if they find items that don’t belong they’ll leave information explaining what went wrong. In some cases, if there is significant contamination, carts won’t be picked up until the offending material is removed. And, in the case of repeated instances of significant contamination, fines will be issued up to $150.00 per offense.
Here are some of the items ambassadors will be looking for:
- Garbage
- Garden hoses, landscape edging and tarps
- Paper towels and tissues
- Non-packaging plastics such as toys, Tupperware type containers, laundry baskets
- Items recyclable at depots and other locations (but not in the cart)
- Plastic bags, including bagged recyclables
- Styrofoam
- Glass
- Soft plastics such as cling wrap, bubble wrap, chip and snack bags, zipper bags
- Electronics and small appliances
- Textiles such as clothes, fabric and pillows
- Soft cover novels and hard cover books and textbooks
- Hazardous waste
- Hazards such as syringes, propane tanks, oil jugs
To find out more about what to recycle in your curbside cart or at a depot, visit rdco.com/recycle, download the free Recycle Coach App, or call the Regional Waste Reduction Office at 250-469-6250.