The Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) is asking for residents to consider the environmental impacts of overconsumption and focus on waste reduction and recycling as we head toward the holiday season.

“The generosity and spirit of the season can often go hand in hand with a great deal of waste,” says General Manager of Engineering & Environmental Services Kevin Paterson. “Making small changes like using reusable products for gift-giving, gifting an experience instead of a physical gift, and investing in rechargeable batteries are all examples of things that will cut down the amount of waste being produced.”

For those products that need to be recycled after use, it’s important to know that the Recycle BC system offers the most options for recycling and is totally separate from the yellow bin system, which takes far fewer items and costs far more. The curbside recycling in Cranbrook, Kimberley, and Fernie are part of the Recycle BC system – but they only accept a portion of the materials that are accepted in the depots at the transfer stations. This is because of the way the materials are processed.

The days surrounding Christmas will be the busiest days of the year at area transfer stations and landfills. “While our contractors will be doing their best to keep up, if everyone tries to drop off garbage or recycling on December 26th, bins will fill faster than they can be serviced. Please try to space out your visits to our facilities and have patience. If you arrive and bins are full, please take your materials with you and plan to come back another day,” adds Paterson.

A Holiday Recycling Guide and holiday hours can be found at engage.rdek.bc.ca/recycle.