Image Credit: Shutterstock
December 14, 2018 - 3:54 PM
NORTH OKANAGAN - The Regional District of North Okanagan is thinking outside the garbage can when it comes to managing their growing pile of waste.
At a meeting on Dec. 12, the Board of Directors unanimously passed three motions related to diverting and lowering the levels of waste in the district's landfill. The motions will return to the Board in 2019 for official adoption.
According to a press release, the first motion directed staff to develop a new bylaw aimed at banning single-use plastics. The motions encouraged staffers to review similar bylaws in Salmon Arm and Victoria to learn about their effectiveness.
The second motion directed staff to study waste-to-energy options for solid waste management, while the third motion instructed staff to start a Request for Proposal process for recycling opportunities in all district disposal and recycling facilities.
"It's clear that changes in world recycling markets are affecting more than just the landfills in the North Okanagan, so we are considering solutions for the short and long term," said Board Chair Kevin Action the release. "We want to plan for our future by rethinking, reducing, and reusing.”
These motions came in the wake of the district's contractor notifying the area that they would no longer pick up comingled items in recycling drop centres at landfills and transfer stations. The District noted this change came about because markets that purchase recycling products set the standard for level of contamination too low.
Comingled items such as printed paper, tin, glass, aluminum, and plastic containers, paper packaging, cartons, paper cups, and Styrofoam will no longer be accepted after Jan. 1, 2019. Curbside recycling and recycling depots will remain unchanged.
Staff will return with recommendations on all three motions in 2019.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Sean Mott or call (250) 864-7494 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.
News from © iNFOnews, 2018