The Reginal District of East Kootenay is temporarily closing all six of its reuse centres to make sure service is maintained.
RDEK officials said this will help protect staff as a number of people have been not following guidelines within the reuse centres.
“We have increasingly been dealing with higher numbers of people in the confined space of the Reuse Centres who are not following social distancing and public masking measures,” said Kevin Paterson, manager of environmental services in a release.
“To provide a layer of protection for our staff and ensure the sites are able to remain fully open, and at the request of our contractor, the decision has been made to temporarily close the Reuse Centres.”
The closure will only affect reuse stations and all transfer stations and landfills in the region will remain open.
“While we recognize this will have a short-term impact for those who use the Reuse Centres, we thank the public for understanding that supporting our staff while maintaining our essential service levels is our top priority,” added Paterson.
Signage is posted and the RDEK will notify the public once they have been reopened.