Curbside Recycling Audit

April 25, 2024

In July 2023, the City of Fernie partnered with Recycle BC to transition to an enhanced curbside recycling program that aims to reduce the amount of waste heading to the landfill by allowing more items in your blue bin.

Our curbside program now includes gable top containers, frozen dessert boxes, paper cups and lids, tinfoil, and tetra packs. One big change is recycling must now be loose in the blue bin and plastic bags aren’t permitted in your cart.

6 month audit: 15% contamination.

 In January, Recycle BC performed an audit on our curbside recycling program in Area 2 (Alpine Trails, Parkland Terrace, the Annex, West Fernie, Mountview and Cedars neighbourhoods) and found 15% contamination in our curbside recycling.

 This is not an acceptable level of contamination within the Recycle BC program and the City is required to take action to track and reduce contamination, and meet our commitments for continued participation in the program.

Audit results:

  • 1.8% of the material collected was non-acceptable items that shouldn’t be recycled.
  • 3.0% was materials like glass or soft plastic that can only be recycled at the Fernie Transfer Station.
  • 10.2% was unsortable material –bagged recyclables that were placed in carts.

For the City to successfully reduce its recycling contamination rate, and to ensure the curbside recycling program remains affordable and sustainable, all residents must do their part to recycle correctly.

Easy Ways to Prevent Contamination:

 Keep it clean - rinse your containers as soon as they’re empty. Just put a little warm water and soap inside, put the lid back on and shake it up to loosen anything that’s stuck.

 Don’t bag items - items that are inside a plastic bag can’t be recycled. The sorting machines at the recycling facility can’t sort the materials and for safety reasons, staff can’t open these bags. Plastic bags and plastic overwrap can be recycled at the Fernie Transfer Station.

 Don’t guess! When in doubt, check fernie.ca/recycling for a reference on what is accepted in your curbside bin.