TNRD in a recycling bind; City of Kamloops doing well

Apr 23, 2018 | 4:31 PM

KAMLOOPS — The Thompson-Nicola Regional District says it is in a bind after its contracted processor, Emterra Environmental, told the regional district it can no longer accept the TNRD’s recycling.

Emterra says because China has enacted a new policy that only accepts “uncontaminated” recycling, the material received from the regional district is not good enough.

Recycling product is contaminated when it contains non-recyclable materials.

The TNRD says it is working on ways to keep its recycling program viable, but in the meantime, it’s asking residents to pay careful attention that the items they place in recycling collectors are actually acceptable.

The situation is much rosier within the City of Kamloops.

In a report to council this week, city staff say the 2017 agreement between the Kamloops and Recycle BC is reaping benefits.

Because of sustained education efforts in 2017, the city has managed to keep contamination down, meaning what’s collected by Recycle BC is still being accepted by Chinese customers.

In addition, the city says it received $1.1 million in revenue from Recycle BC during the first 10 months of the agreement.