The City of Cranbrook has released its official timeline for the implementation of curbside recycling in the community, revealing a start date of Monday, May 3rd.
The program is in partnership with Recycle BC and GFL, who are fulfilling the curbside collection contract in Cranbrook.
“I want to thank RecycleBC and the RDEK for working with us and funding the purchase of the carts. To be able to offer curbside recycling to our community without impacting utility fees was an opportunity that would have been difficult to pass up,” said Cranbrook Mayor Lee Pratt. “I am excited to see the curbside recycling program taking shape, and I fully expect our residents will be pleased with this service.”
Back in July 2020, Cranbrook got a $691,640 grant from the Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) to be paid equally over 5 years for the purchase of the City’s recycling carts.
While the launch day is May 3rd, the City of Cranbrook has created plenty of public information about the new curbside recycling service. The information covers the overall recycling program, as well as specific details such as pickup schedules, cart information and cart placement, acceptable materials for recycling, a thorough ‘What Goes Where’ guide and a series of frequently asked questions.
MORE: Curbside Recycling Collection (City of Cranbrook)
“We are looking forward to starting the curbside recycling program,” said Katelyn Pocha, Water/Wastewater Project Manager with the City of Cranbrook. “We encourage residents to use the recycling webpage to search recyclable items, download their pickup schedule, and sign up for email reminders for their recycling and garbage pickup.”
GFL will be delivering one 240-litre wheeled cart to each residential household in Cranbrook between April 9th and 21st. The carts will also come with an information guide. All of the carts are tagged and have their own serial number for tracking purposes.
“The cart tag allows for monitoring when the recycling has been collected and to help track any potential contamination. It is important that residents ensure all materials placed in the cart are cleaned properly to avoid contamination,” said the City of Cranbrook.
Although the majority of recyclables will be accepted with the curbside program, several items will not be accepted and can only be recycled at the Recycle BC depot at the Cranbrook Transfer Station. Some of those include glass, such as glass containers; soft plastics, such as plastic grocery bags, plastic wrapping, or plastic overwrap; styrofoam packaging, such as cushion packaging and food trays; as well as any electronics.
The City of Cranbrook entered a five-year funding agreement with RecycleBC back in November 2020 for the single-stream, automated curbside recycling collection program. The agreement gives the City an annual $236,050 incentive to provide the program in the community. GFL was awarded the contract to fulfill the program, signing a three-year deal that can be extended for another two years upon renewal.
Below are previous stories on Cranbrook’s curbside recycling program heading towards its implementation this year:
Cranbrook’s curbside recycling program set to begin in early May (Feb. 8, 2021)
Curbside recycling slated for spring 2021 as Cranbrook inks five-year agreement (Nov. 10, 2020)
Cranbrook City Council approves new solid waste and recycling bylaw for curbside collection (Oct. 6, 2020)
RDEK voices support for Cranbrook’s new curbside recycling program (July 9, 2020)
Cranbrook approves agreement with Recycle BC to start curbside program (July 14, 2020)