The City of Penticton is taking steps to keep residents honest when it comes to what they’re throwing into their garbage or recycling cans.
Over the summer, the city will have a team of recycling ambassadors who will be conducting random inspections of local curbside carts as part of efforts to improve recycling efforts.
“Overall, Penticton is doing a great job of sorting their recycling into their blue carts, as well as keeping non-plant materials out of their yard waste carts,” says David Kassian, the city’s community sustainability coordinator. “With a few tips and reminders, we hope to raise awareness of some common mistakes so that homeowners are more aware of what can go in their carts,”
The ambassadors have already begun their work and are out in the city conducting inspections.
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The city aims to reduce the amount of recyclable materials that end up in the landfill by the end of the year as part of efforts to meet RecycleBC requirements. That means cutting down the contamination rate from 7.8 per cent to 4.5 per cent.
Residents are reminded to keep these items out of your curbside recycling carts:
* Soft/hard cover books, scrap metal, electronics, ceramics, household hazardous waste
* Materials contained inside bags or different types of containers nested together (for example, recyclable items stuffed inside a box)
* Glass
* Plastic bags and overwrap
* Other flexible plastic packaging
* Accepted material containing residue, which includes containers with food inside
* Foam packaging
Many of the items can be dropped off at a recycling depot. If you’re not sure where your recycling item goes, try the Recycling Wizard tool at penticton.ca/recycling or call the Recycling Hotline at 1-800-667-4321.
Yard waste inspections will check for non-plant materials, such as gardening supplies, plastic bags, dog waste, food waste and other not-accepted material. For further details about what can – and can’t – go in your yard waste cart, visit penticton.ca/yardwaste.
The Recycling Ambassadors are annual summer students whose duties are to conduct curbside recycling and yard waste audits, attend community events to speak on waste disposal, and engage multi-family properties on best recycling practices.
They are also piloting the City’s new cargo e-bikes to encourage zero-emission transportation.
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