Door-to-door collection of recyclable materials will start on January 1 under a three-year contract awarded to Bresco Industries, the City of Revelstoke announced on Thursday.
“City Council has deliberated long and hard after revisiting this issue several times over recent years,” Mayor David Raven said in a statement. “Residents of the City have given us a strong message that they want door to door pick up of recyclable materials. We have chosen a local contractor who has offered an excellent price for the service. This is the right thing to do for our environment and our community.”
Bresco Industries’ Brett Renaud said the company looks forward to providing curbside recycling.
“ We look forward to working with and serving the City of Revelstoke and the Columbia Shuswap Regional District with this new service that will reduce waste going to the landfill, provide local jobs and improve Revelstoke’s environmental impact for years to come,” he said in the statement
Delivery of the program is being carried out jointly with the CSRD, who are in the process of contracting Bresco Industries to reload and transport the recyclable material to Kelowna for processing. The CSRD will also be providing further information and education to the residents of the City on what materials can be recycled.
The program will cover all residential properties that currently receive door-to-door garbage collection. Residents who live in apartment buildings will still need to take their recyclable materials to the bins located adjacent to the arena.
Pick ups will include newsprint, mixed waste paper, cardboard, plastics No. 1 to No. 7 (excluding Styrofoam) and metal cans. Unfortunately glass cannot be picked up as there is a potential safety hazard to the workers. Residents can still take glass to the recycle bins by the arena. Further information regarding scheduling of collection dates and a complete list of what materials can be recycled will be released at a later date.
The program will cost users $2.97 per month in 2012. In future years, increases to the monthly rate will be indexed to the Canadian Price Indexing with a minimum increase of 2%. The cost will be added to the property tax notices as are fees for garbage collection.
The price of the service offers excellent value to the City. Other communities in the surrounding area are paying slightly high monthly rates. For example residents in Golden are paying $4.30 a month.
