Solution for confusion over recycling still over one year away: city officials
By Timothy Schafer
It could be over one year before the regional recycling program is in line with the province’s recycling program, possibly landing Nelson a full-service Recycle B.C. depot in the process, say city officials.
Mayor Deb Kozak said it likely won’t be until 2018 before the regional district — which the city partners with for resource recovery services — finishes negotiations with the province for recycling services.
Currently, there are two systems of recycling in place right now in Nelson, said Kozak on Monday night during city council’s regular meeting. The city has a contract with Recycle B.C. but the Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK) does not, meaning the city collects its own recycling and delivers it to the regional district, which has contracts with some, not all, buyers in the waste recycling industries.
The RDCK is not with Recycle B.C., said Kozak, saying the regional district claimed the new provincial program requirements were too stringent for the needs of the RDCK’s smaller depots.
Unfortunately, this means the city has to adjust the recycling it accepts in the curbside blue bag in order to meet the RDCK’s list of acceptable recyclable materials, even though Recycle B.C. accepts several materials — like glass and plastic bags.
“We are hoping to get on with (Recycle B.C.) by 2018,” in the regional district, Kozak said.
In the meantime, what that has caused in Nelson is a huge amount of frustration and confusion for residents who just want to do the right thing, Kozak explained. Nelsonites note a discrepancy between the provincial program and what is accepted locally, and aren’t sure what to put in the blue recycling bags.
As a result, the city has published a list of what people can or can’t recycle, she said.
“We will get this system working better as time goes by and as we get into further compliance with Recycle B.C.,” Kozak said.
When the city performed the garbage and recycling audit earlier this year it was trying to look at what was being put into recycling bags in the city compared to what is accepted by Recycle B.C., said city manager Kevin Cormack.
It was an educational process, he added, done to let people know what could go into recycling bags and what some of the other options were for the items that currently are not accepted, like plastic bags, glass, Styrofoam, used paper towel and tissue, organics, electronics and engine oil.
But that situation in the city could change for some products. For the last few months city has been working with Recycle B.C., the regional district and a potential non-profit organization to try and open a complete, full service recycling depot in Nelson, said Cormack.
“So it would be a one-stop shop in Nelson where you could take all of those products to recycle,” he said.
The non-profit organization had a site chosen but the deal fell through, Cormack explained, but he was quite hopeful a new site will see a full Recycle B.C. depot in the city soon.
Putting a lid on the new bylaw
On Monday night the city finalized new legislation around garbage collection and recycling, giving final reading and adoption to the Waste Management and Wildlife Attractant Bylaw.
Instead of placing garbage bags on the curb outside of a can, people can now keep the bag in the can on garbage pick up day, with the lid off, and when city staff come to pick up garbage they will lift the bag — not the can — and place it into the truck.
The city’s director of Public Works and Utilities, Colin Innes, had recommended the new changes to the two-month-old bylaw amendments. He said it remained the preference of the city for garbage bags to be placed at the curb outside of a garbage can, but in order to “mitigate a potential issue in the future” people who wish to use a garbage can to avoid a potential animal conflict are allowed to.
“Although the actual number of incidences involving animals disrupting garbage bags left outside of garbage cans during the trial period was extremely small, there is some potential for an increase in the incidence of animals disrupting bags as temperatures become warmer,” Innes said in his report to council.
He contended that the potential existed that residents might misunderstand the amendments allowing for use of a garbage can to avoid potential animal conflict is a return to “the way things used to be.”
“It needs to be recognized that these amendments require a change in the way that the public utilizes this service,” he said. “It is anticipated that these changes could be received negatively by the public as the recommended changes represent a change in the service level.”
The changes to the bylaw include:
- Garbage bags will be lifted out of a garbage can by a city employee and placed into the truck;
- Garbage cans will not be lifted by city employees;
- Garbage bags that stick in cans will be left in the can;
- Garbage bags must be the correct size or will be left in the can;
- Garbage bags must be the correct weight or will be left in the can; and
- Garbage bags must have a tag on every bag. Untagged bags will be left in the can.
The city will also be enforcing the maximum bag size (44 pounds) and the requirement of placing a tag on each bag of garbage. The bag size and the requirement of what to put in the bag have been in place for almost 15 years, said Cormack, so that part is not a change.
“We weren’t enforcing it but we should have,” he said. “The council of the day adopted it to encourage people to reduce garbage and do more recycling, composting, reusing, etcetera.”
Innes said a review of the feedback received over the trial period identified four major issues, including concern that animals would be attracted to garbage bags that were left outside of a garbage can. The initial bylaw regulations required garbage bags to be removed from their storage containers by residents and placed appropriately for pick up.
But in the three weeks city crews were picking up both garbage and recycling at 13,875 locations, only 0.2 per cent of those locations had a bag that had been disrupted by either wildlife or dogs (21 incidents).
The trial period also found that additional information was required regarding materials suitable for recycling as part of the Recycle B.C. program.
As well, Innes said changes that had been made in 2003 regarding the maximum bag size and the placing of a tag on each bag of garbage did not appear to have been historically enforced as many residents felt that these were new changes.
In the end Innes said the changes would allow the city to safeguard staff from injury while providing an option to residents to avoid a potential animal conflict.
Looking back
City council made amendments to its Waste Management and Wildlife Attractant Bylaw in January following an internal Occupational Health and Safety review, conducted to investigate the rash of injuries sustained by staff while collecting garbage. Since 2012 there have been 13 reported injuries for individuals involved in garbage collection duties.
The city instituted a slate of recommendations for its staff — including the need to be physically fit and stretching to start the work day — as well as lowering the curbside weight and placement of garbage bags the city will accept for removal.
The acceptable weight of bags has dropped from 50 pounds (23 kilograms) to 44 lbs. (20 kg.), and garbage bags must be removed from their storage containers by residents and placed appropriately for pick up.
Any bags that have become “saturated,” or have not been left “as close as possible to the edge of the traveled way serving the property,” will not be collected either. The new maximum weight and requirements apply also to recycling bags.
City staff will place a sticker on garbage that is not being collected due to the garbage not complying with the bylaw, and will make a notation of the address of where the garbage originates so that a list can be provided to the city secretary receptionist.
