There’s a very popular television commercial that most of us have seen that tries to embarrass people who don’t recycle their household materials.
That commercial is a glowing example of just how far Canadians have come when it comes to recycling everything from paper products to pop and beer cans, cellphone batteries to electronic appliances.
Recycling has, fortunately, become part of the daily routine of millions of Canadians.
However, here in Osoyoos, and undoubtedly in tens of thousands of other jurisdictions across this country, there appears to be a growing problem with contamination of recyclable materials.
As Jim Dindwoodie, the Town’s director of operational services, clearly pointed out, contamination of recyclable materials has become a persistent and growing problem at the Osoyoos landfill.
Contamination occurs when local citizens – most of them with the very best of intentions – fail to take the proper time to properly separate recyclables.
When a homeowner decides to put things like herbicides, pesticides or motor oil into a container full of recyclable materials, the entire load is considered contaminated “and treated as garbage” and then needs to be disposed of with regular garbage.
Improperly separating recyclables and causing contamination not only increases the amount of garbage disposed of at the landfill, but it directly contradicts the goal of recycling in the first place.
Many local residents might not realize it, but the Town doesn’t impose or enforce the rules and regulations when it comes to recycling. Those are imposed by Recycle BC and Town staff at the local landfill are mandated to follow the rules.
With Recycle BC threatening to dramatically increase enforcement and fines, Dinwoodie said the time has come to inform local residents that taking a couple of extra minutes to properly separate recyclables and cutting down on contamination would be very much appreciated.
When local homeowners bring large loads of recyclable materials to the Osoyoos landfill site, there are numerous large bins set up that are clearly visible with easy-to-read signage.
If those same homeowners need to know what can or can’t be brought to the local landfill in terms of recyclables, there is all kinds of pertinent information available on the Town’s website.
There are also weigh scale clerks who work at the landfill who are more than willing to provide assistance and information to residents and their recyclables.
The entire point of recycling is to cut down on the amount of material that ends up in the local landfill, so we urge local residents to take a few extra minutes each week to ensure they are not contaminating the material they throw in their blue boxes and properly discard recyclable materials at the proper location if they make a regular trip to the landfill.
It’s not too much to ask and will ensure the Osoyoos landfill, which is one of the cleanest and tidiest you will find anywhere, will continue to operate smoothly for many years to come.
