(Image Credit: City of Kamloops)

By Victor Kaisar

Recycling

Kamloops to host monthly flexible plastics pop-up recycling events

Jan 22, 2026 | 3:02 PM

KAMLOOPS — The City of Kamloops will be hosting the first in a series of monthly pop-up flexible plastics recycling events this Sunday (Jan. 25) at Valleyview Arena.

Solid Waste Reduction Coordinator Marcia Dick says these drive-through style events — between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. on the third Sunday of every month — aim to make it easier for people to recycle flexible plastics like plastic bags and overwrap.

“If its bendy, then call it a flexible plastic,” Dick said on CFJC Midday. “It’s such a huge category, I think we have a link on our website with all the different types of flexible plastics there are.”

“We’ll send you back with anything that is not flexible plastics, but its generally nut bags, coffee bean bags, overwrap, crinkly wrappers, zipper top pouches things like that.”

Dick says flexible plastics are not accepted in curbside recycling carts as it behaves like paper during the sorting process.

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“Flexible plastics get sorted into paper bales and it ends up contaminating the sorted paper,” Dick added.

At present, Kamloops residents can recycle flexible plastics at the Columbia Bottle Depot (963 Camosun Crescent), the Lorne Street Bottle Depot (270 Halston Avenue) and at London Drugs (450 Lansdowne Street). Flexible plastics can also be dropped off at all 27 TNRD eco-depots and transfer stations, as they’re also part of the Recycle BC Depot system.

Dick says the goal of these pop-up events is to make it as easy as possible for Kamloopsians to recycle flexible plastics. The next two collection events will be at Westsyde Centennial Park on Feb. 22 and at Brocklehurst Arena on March 29.

“It’s very simple,” Dick said. “We just put up a table and some carts and a tent and people can drive by and drop off their flexible plastics. We’ll even unload it from your vehicle. It’ll take… two seconds.”

“As well, participants will get a free reusable pink tote bag when they drop off their flexible plastics at a pop-up event.”

All flexible plastics collected at depots or at pop-up events in Kamloops are sent to be processed at Merlin Plastics in Metro Vancouver before being sold to plastics manufacturers and producers.

“They pelletize or shred them or whatever it is they do before they turn it to something new and sell it to plastics manufacturers who make things like coke bottles or park benches even construction wrap,” Dick said. “All those different things you use plastic for.”

The following is the full list of 2026 flexible plastics pop-up events are as follows:

• Sunday, January 25, Valleyview Arena, 353 Highland Road
• Sunday, February 22, Westsyde Centennial Park, 705 Franklin Road
• Sunday, March 29, Brocklehurst Arena, 2470 Fleetwood Avenue
• Sunday, April 26, Yacht Club, 1140 River Street
• Sunday, May 31, Albert McGowan Park, 2025 Summit Drive
• Sunday, June 28, Valleyview Arena, 353 Highland Road
• Sunday, July 26, Westsyde Centennial Park, 705 Franklin Road
• Sunday, August 30, Brocklehurst Arena, 2470 Fleetwood Avenue
• Sunday, September 27, Westsyde Centennial Park, 705 Franklin Road
• Sunday, November 1*, McArthur Island, 1655 Island Parkway
  • on the southwest side of the island in the disc golf course parking lot
• Sunday, November 29, Valleyview Arena, 353 Highland Road
• Sunday, December 27, Bunker Road Recycling Depot, 1510 Bunker Road

For more on the recycling pop-events, go here.