Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Ashley Legassic

RECYCLING INSPECTIONS

What are you putting in your recycling? City inspectors are planning to find out

Jan 29, 2020 | 2:17 PM

KAMLOOPS — The City of Kamloops is ramping up its efforts to decrease the amount of recycling contamination in the community.

In a news release, the City says its sanitation section is checking recycling containers — carts and bins — as part of ongoing efforts to better educate residents and to help reduce materials that should not be included with packaging and paper recycling.

The City says this process has been in place since Kamloops joined the Recycle BC program in 2017, but continued high levels of contaminants at the City’s recycling depot have resulted in more efforts to combat the issue through increasing education, inspection and enforcement.

Recycling is inspected prior to collection by City staff. Items that aren’t accepted in recycling like plastic bags, glass and books are tracked and, where possible, removed from recycling. The homeowner is informed of the unacceptable items placed in recycling through a tag left on the cart.

As of the beginning of this year, unacceptable items found in carts may be placed in clear plastic bags to teach the resident. The City says this helps them understand which items are accepted and which aren’t.

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If a cart is found with a large amount of unaccepted materials, it won’t be collected and the resident needs to remove it before the next collection.

The City is also checking multi-family bins and carts, and is working with property and building managers to help educate tenants and make changes to collection to help reduce contamination.

If you have recyclable items that don’t fall within the home collection program, you can take them to a Recycle BC depot or to other recycling collectors.

The City’s Waste Wise app allows residents to search for a specific item, and to learn if and where it can be taken for recycling.

For more information on recycling in Kamloops, go here.