Throwing away recyclable materials at the Salmon Arm landfill could come at a high price.
Carmen Fennell, Columbia Shuswap Regional District waste reduction facilitator, will be spending a lot more time at the Salmon Arm landfill this year in order to audit garbage received from commercial sources.
As the Shuswap Association For Community Living (SACL) program closes at the end of the month and a new recycling program gets underway in downtown Salmon Arm, businesses are being cautioned to find alternative service.
And, while she understands a number of businesses won’t have service as of Feb. 1, Fennel says the CSRD is determined to increase diversion of recyclable items from the landfill.
“We will be checking to see that things that shouldn’t be are being buried.”
And when that happens, haulers will be charged a “disincentive fee” that could amount to double the tipping fee.
“We want to educate the drivers of the trucks, but they, in turn, and us, need to educate the business community,” says Fennel. “The message is, if you put stuff in the garbage that’s not supposed to be there, you’ll be paying more.”
And while it’s the haulers that will pay up front, Fennell says the onus is really on businesses to sort and separate material they don’t want.
BFI Progressive Waste Solutions, the company that will provide a door-to-door, co-mingled recycling service beginning Feb. 1, is actively canvassing for customers in the downtown area starting today.
Accounts manager Stephen Maarhuis says they will also provide service to commercial ventures outside the downtown core.
Anyone who is interested in getting service from BFI Progressive Waste Solutions, may call Maarhuis at the office at 250-832-3059 or on his cell at 1-250-260-0713.
In the meantime, Fennell says the regional district has a lot of valuable information, including a waste audit kit to help businesses reduce waste and increase diversion from the landfill.