On May 19th, a new Province wide recycling program will slightly change how people recycle throughout the RDOS.

Residential collection programs for homes will no longer accept plastic bags or books for recycling. Plastic bags and books will still be recycled but residents are asked to keep them separate and bring to local recycling depots. Other materials accepted at local depots but not collected at homes include glass jars and bottles and Styrofoam.

Residents will be able to recycle a wide assortment of new materials. Residents will be able to recycle clean and dry paper cups, ice cream boxes, tetra-pak containers, milk cartons, juice concentrate spiral cans and ‘Pringle’ style containers. Small caps and lids will also be accepted if removed from containers and placed alongside clean and dry plastic containers. Fully empty aerosol cans and lids can also be placed out for recycling excluding paint aerosols cans which can be returned to paint recycling depots.

Residents will be able to co-mingle acceptable materials at the curb or in their cart. At home, residents will be able to place all of their accepted recycling in clear blue bags or blue boxes. Apartments in Penticton, Summerland and Oliver will continue to mix materials in the blue rolling carts or in other bins provided.

Residential recycling depots will also be set up at all Landfills, the J&C Bottle Depot in Penticton and the Osoyoos Bottle Depot. During hours of operation, residential recycling depots will have separate bins for recycling plastic bags, glass bottles and jars, white Styrofoam packaging and coloured Styrofoam packaging. Books will also be recycled for free at all Landfills within the RDOS.

Unlike residential collection programs, depots will not accept blue bags where paper and cardboard is mixed with containers for liquids or food. These depots will require residents to separate printed paper, dry paper packaging and cardboard from clean and dry containers such as paper cups, milk cartons, plastic bottles and metal.