Kamloops council green-lights closure of Bunker Road recycling site, reducing solid waste fee increases for ’27

Nov 10, 2026 | 5:04 PM

KAMLOOPS — Kamloops’ new city council made its first big decision on Tuesday (Nov. 10) afternoon, voting on a trio of options with relation to solid waste user fees.

After an hour-long discussion around the horseshoe, staff were sent away to crunch the numbers on a hybrid option, with council looking to ensure the solid waste utility is self-funded without additional taxation, and wanting to lower costs through the closure of the Bunker Road recycling site.

“What we are trying to do here is, in order to break even on the cart business – what provides residents collection of garbage, recycling and compost from their house every week – this is what’s required in order to be self sufficient and not have other parts of the business subsidize it,” said Glen Farrow, civic operations business manager.

The vote was unanimous to close Bunker Road, saving a quarter-million dollars per year, equating to a $46 average increase for homeowners in 2027 for their garbage, recycling and compost pickups. Without the Bunker Road closure, the increase would have been $58.

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“The plan would be to have that closed at January 1, 2027. We are talking Budget 2027 and we are working with (communications) to relay in what that would look like,” said Farrow. “The nice thing about if we were to close that, it is in most cases a redundant service, where there are other options available in the community that are funded by other levels of government and other producers. We would continue to keep our depots at our two landfill sites, but that particular one that isn’t staffed has been a challenge for years.”

Council will still need to approve the final solid waste bylaw at an upcoming meeting.

Part of the reasoning for the increase was to return the city’s reserves to a stable position. It was also noted that collection is done utilizing diesel trucks, which have seen massive price increases to fill the tank in recent months, affecting the bottom line.

by Michael Reeve

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Kamloops council green-lights closure of Bunker Road recycling site, reducing solid waste fee increases for ’27

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