This week is National Waste Reduction Week and features 7 themes including Repair Monday, Textiles Tuesday, E-Waste Wednesday, Plastics Thursday, Food Waste Friday, Sharing Saturday, and Swap Sunday.
Small actions matter and they all add up. Some simple changes that can be made during your week at home, work or school would include reducing paper by using both sides, packing your lunch in reusable containers and reusing jars for storage. When you are out and about around town you can reduce waste by avoiding over-packaged or unnecessary disposable items, using a reusable cup or shopping bag when you have the opportunity and purchasing products with recycled content. Choosing durable items that can be repaired or renting items that you rarely use can also really cut-down on the waste that is generated in our communities.
Recycle BC vs The Yellow Bin System – What’s the Difference?
So many times we hear people say that it doesn’t matter if they put things in the Yellow Bins instead of taking them to a Recycle BC depot because the systems are all the same and the products all end in the same place anyway.
Nothing could be further from the truth. These two programs are completely separate.
The Yellow Bin System has been in place for over 25 years and bins are still found throughout the region outside schools, businesses and in rural areas. This system was a great option for the East Kootenay for a long time; however, as the recycling landscape has changed in BC this program is no longer meeting the same needs and is incredibly expensive to operate.
A few years ago, the recycling regulation in BC was changed mandating a new recycling program for residentially-generated paper and packaging products. Because this program is part of a provincially-regulated program, fees collected from producers of paper, cardboard and packaging pay for the collection and recycling of eligible recycling materials. Recycle BC manages this program and the RDEK is a registered collector at our Depots. This program has opened up dozens of new items that can be recycled – and we get paid per tonne collected.
Here are a few key facts:
1. We encourage as much residential recycling as possible to go through the Recycle BC program.
• Recycle BC accepts far more products and categories.
• The Yellow Bins accept only paper, cardboard, tin cans, grocery bags and plastics 1-6 (no styrofoam).
2. From January 2024 to August 2024 the RDEK has been paid $212,194 in revenues by Recycle BC. By contrast, the Yellow Bin program has cost taxpayers $896,930 to operate.
3. In 2025, the Yellow Bin program is expected to cost $2 million to operate.
4. On average the RDEK earns $274/tonne from Recycle BC. By contrast it costs us $309/tonne to operate the Yellow Bins.
5. At its meeting on October 11, the RDEK Board asked staff to prepare a plan to phase out the Yellow Bins by the end of 2025.
6. Curbside recycling programs in Fernie, Cranbrook and Kimberley are part of the Recycle BC system (Invermere curbside is currently part of the Yellow Bin system, however plans are being made to switch to Recycle BC).- Curbside programs take the same products as the Paper/Cardboard and Containers categories.- Glass, styrofoam, and flexible plastics are not accepted in curbside programs and have to be taken separately to a depot as these products are shipped directly to market.
7. Because Recycle BC mandates its sites must be fenced, staffed and open during set hours, we cannot operate this service rurally with our current transfer station structure, which is why the Yellow Bins have remained at rural sites.
Recycle BC Depots
Our Recycle BC Depots are available for residential recycling across the Regional District and with locations at the transfer stations in Invermere, Kimberley, Cranbrook, Fernie, Sparwood and Elkford. We would like to direct as much residential recycling as possible to the Recycle BC Depots as they accept a wider range of products and the RDEK gets paid per tonne collected as a registered Collector.
Products we accept for recycling at Recycle BC Depots include:
• Paper & Cardboard Products
• Flexible Plastics
• Containers
• Coloured/Printed Styrofoam
• White Styrofoam
• Glass Containers
• For a full list of products accepted and “what goes where”, click here.
Recycle BC continues to expand and we anticipate revenues to increase in 2025. We are encouraging residents to direct as much recycling as possible to these depots in our region and explore the many other recycling and diversion opportunities available to us in the East Kootenay.
Backyard Composting
• Earth Machine composters are available from the Cranbrook and Columbia Valley RDEK offices for $52 including tax.
Other products you have in your home that you may not know can be recycled or diverted from the landfill include:
• Small Appliances & Electronics
• Oil, Oil Filters & Antifreeze
• Light bulbs & Fixtures
• Tires
• Batteries & Cellphones
• Outdoor Power Equipment
• Smoke Alarms & CO2 Alarms
• Medications
• Hazardous Waste & Paint
• Clean Wood Waste
• Scrap Metal
• Large Appliances
• Auto Batteries
• Propane Tanks
For more information on where can take these products, check out the Recycling Guide here.
