Dale Boyd

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) is applying for provincial grant funding which would cover two thirds of the cost for curbside residential food waste collection in rural Osoyoos and Oliver.

The board voted Dec. 3 to apply for provincial funding to launch the new food waste curbside collection programs, including the purchase of carts, kitchen catchers and educational services for Areas A and C (rural Osoyoos and Oliver) and support efforts in Summerland, Oliver, Osoyoos and the Osoyoos Indian Band to collaborate on the purchases to potentially reduce costs, should the grant funding come through.

The provincial CleanBC Organics Infrastructure and Collection Program provides two-thirds of the funding for communities applying to launch curbside food waste collection programs. Rural Oliver and Osoyoos “have reserves that could be applied to this program that could eliminate the need for borrowing,” states an RDOS staff report, however, the board voted Thursday to allow borrowing the funds if required.

Area C (Rural Oliver) Dir. Rick Knodel, was the lone vote opposed to applying for provincial funding. He says there are more cost effective ways to promote composting organic material in rural areas. One of those methods would be providing “green cones,” or backyard compost bins, for individuals to use for composting organic materials.

Knodel said these cones may be more cost effective and efficient than the proposed curbside collection with trucks.

“In a highly rural area we’re going to be paying for that extra pick-up. I look around my neighbourhood, most people compost or use what’s called green cone-type digesting systems for their animal and meat waste. It would possibly be more efficient. I would like to look at supplying our rural area with green cones as opposed to paying for trucks,” Knodel said.

The RDOS could supply composting bins to every house in its jurisdiction, likely for less than the compost pick up is going to cost, Knodel said.

“I’m not against the compost pick up, don’t get me wrong, I just think that it’s spread out in a rural (area),” Knodel said “I’m not against my subdivisions being serviced, I’m just against the whole area paying for a service that they can’t use.”

The agreement with the province should the grant funding go through might leave the regional district in a poor position to negotiate with waste services as well according to Knodel.

“Once we go this route for the grant we’ve locked ourselves into a pit or position where we can’t say ‘no.’ So we have no bargaining power with waste services,” Knodel said. “They can kind of set a price and we don’t have a choice, we can’t back out.”

The RDOS is currently constructing a compost site at the Oliver Landfill capable of composting residential materials from Oliver, Osoyoos, the Osoyoos Indian Band and surrounding rural areas, funded in part with a grant from the Organics Infrastructure Program.

The District of Summerland has also received grant funding for constructing a food waste compost site at the Summerland Landfill. Both landfill projects need to be completed by March 31, 2022 as a requirement of the grant funding. The carts and kitchen catchers would be required by March 31, 2024 as stipulated by the grant requirements and public consultation is scheduled to take place in 2021 on the exact type of carts for each community.