Every item has its proper place at the end if its usable life - and putting it in that proper place helps protect our environment, conserve resources, and conserve landfill capacity. Not sure where something belongs? The Recycling Council of BC’s Recyclepedia tool makes it easy to search for specific items and find out how and where to recycle or dispose of them locally.
You can also contact an Environmental Advisor at the Recycling Council of BC for free and helpful information on reuse, recycling, and responsible disposal at 1-800-667-4321 or info@rcbc.ca.
Know Where to Go!
“The Dump” - where everything goes to one place - is a vision of the past, which is not sustainable. Did you know that many everyday-use items are not garbage? There are free drop-off options for a wide range of products in the communities we shop in. So consider pairing recycling with your shopping trips! A trip to the bottle depot that accepts refundable beverage containers and a wide range of other products for free recycling can put money in your pocket, rather than having to pay fees at a Landfill along with the extra gas to get there.
Recycling Depots
A wide range of products, including batteries, beverage containers, electronics, packaging, paper, household chemicals, and automotive products, are part of provincially mandated stewardship programs. These stewardship programs are funded and operated by the private sector at participating bottle depots and retailers, and products are accepted for free at these locations.
View this helpful Recycling Depot Guide to find out what you can take where!
A wide range of packaging and paper products are also accepted in the Recycle BC curbside collection program.
Solid Waste Management Facilities
RDNO Solid Waste Management Facilities accept garbage and select divertible materials. They should be the last option once all opportunities to reduce waste are taken. The primary diversion opportunities at RDNO landfills are for yard & garden waste and construction & demolition type materials (i.e. concrete, major appliances, scrap metal and wood). The less garbage in our landfills, the better, because the North Okanagan is Too Good to Waste.
Visit our Solid Waste Management Facilities page for locations, hours and what they accept.