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Education Program Underway to Reduce Contamination in Chilliwack Curbside Recycling | October 13, 2021 |
Chilliwack, BC: The City of Chilliwack is asking residents to double-check what they are putting in their curbside recycling. Contamination rates in curbside recycling are too high in Chilliwack, which negatively impacts the recycling process. To assist residents with the curbside recycling program, the City has developed a Contamination Remediation Plan in consultation with Recycle BC. Recycle BC is the province-wide stewardship organization responsible for residential packaging and paper recycling in BC. Contamination in recycling hinders the sorting of materials, and lowers the potential for the materials to be recycled. Keeping non-recyclable and recycling depot materials out of curbside recycling will ensure acceptable items can be recycled into quality products. “We know a lot of residents are passionate about recycling and want to keep as much out of the landfill as possible, but to do that we all need to make sure we are putting the right materials in our blue bins,” said Mayor Popove. “The City has several helpful tools that residents can use when they aren’t sure what goes where, including our Curbside Collection App.” Residents can download the free Chilliwack Curbside Collection App to their smartphones, or use the Waste Wizard and Sorting Guide found on the City’s website to ensure what they are placing in their recycling bin is correct. Hard copies of the sorting guide can also be mailed out to residents upon request. The City’s curbside collection contractor, Emterra Environmental, is leaving educational tags on non-compliant recycling bins so residents can correct any issues before the next collection. City staff are also performing random audits and educational tagging of curbside materials. Accepted items that can go in the City of Chilliwack’s blue bins:
Please remember that all cups and food containers need to be emptied and rinsed. Not accepted items:
Although curbside recycling is convenient, it is not feasible for all recyclable items to be collected curbside because some items can’t be easily sorted at the recycling facilities or they contain hazardous materials that require special handling. Items such as plastic bags, foam packaging, batteries, light bulbs and electronics are accepted for recycling at drop-off depots. For more information, residents can visit chilliwack.com/curbside or contact the City’s Curbside line at [email protected] or 604.793.2787. |
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