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Recycling changes resound in community

Local governments announce awarding of recycling pickup contract
44395100milewebrecycleprotest3
Sheree Herron

The community has been buzzing with talk about what is going to happen with changes the province has brought about for recycling packaging and printed paper (PPP).

On Nov. 28, the Cariboo Regional District and District of 100 Mile House jointly awarded a contract to Central Cariboo Disposal for pickup of garbage and recyclables at 108 Mile Ranch and 100 Mile House – to begin May 2014.

However, the bid for who will bale the tins, plastic, cardboard, paper – everything except the bottles – is still up in the air.

CRD chair Al Richmond notes that particular contract process is controlled by Multi Material BC (MMBC).

"The province has determined that it wants this done. So, there's a standard way of dealing with that now, which is not a separated stream [of recyclables], but one stream."

Central Cariboo Disposal has had the contract to collect garbage from 108 Mile Ranch and 100 Mile House for years, he explains.

"They have been awarded the contract now to pick up recyclables for the 108 and 100 Mile because they were successful in their proposal [to the CRD]."

Baling returnables

He says the CRD applied to MMBC for concession incentives to collect recyclables at its waste sites, such as Lac la Hache, Watch Lake, Lone Butte and Interlakes, but not in 100 Mile House.

"I think that our local recyclers ... stand a great chance of being successful on that [processing/baling]. That's why we never asked for depot concessions from MMBC for 100 Mile House because we wanted to leave that open for our local people to bid on that job."

Currently, Gold Trail Recycling in 100 Mile House gets a CRD subsidy to collect local recyclables, and then is responsible for everything from pick up and baling to marketing the finished bales, Richmond notes.

Now, he explains MMBC is determining who will bale, and then it will soon take over responsibility for marketing those bales.

"Under the new regime, the province, through MMBC – for a whole zone from Prince George clean though to Lillooet, including the Kamloops area – will go to tender for someone to collect, bundle, compress and bale all the recyclables, except for the glass."

There are probably only a couple of outfits large enough to market from this new region to China and the many other places it must now seek buyers from, he adds.

Richmond says the CRD believes MMBC is going to have to look to local facilities, such as Gold Trail, to do the baling.

"They're not going to come and set up balers in very community – that's not going to happen.

"I think [Gold Trail] is very well poised; they've got a depot that is in good order, and from what we've been hearing from folks, it is in a good position to do that."

He adds the company could bid on its own, but in theory, a collective bid from a larger group of local companies might be better positioned to gain a contract.

"We are hoping the recyclers in Williams Lake, Quesnel and 100 Mile House will get together and put in a joint bid to become the people that do this [collecting and baling] task – that will provide it to the 'big guys' that are going to market it."

He adds the local recyclers would still be paid a subsidy to process the local recyclables, without having to market it.

"That's sort of the 'new world order' that we have no control over."

No bid from Gold Trail

In advance of its Jan. 10 deadline to accept MMBC incentives, the CRD provided Gold Trail the opportunity to bid on the 108 Mile Ranch tote pickup for both garbage (weekly) and recyclables (bi-weekly), he notes.

Gold Trail owner Leslie Glen declined the opportunity in a Nov. 1 e-mail to CRD Solid Waste Management supervisor Tera Grady.

"Tera, after careful review Gold Trail will not be putting in a proposal for 108 Mile curbside recycling and garbage," Glen wrote.

She went on to thank the CRD for the opportunity and indicated a desire to work closely with local government on "all other aspects" of the MMBC program.

Richmond says the CRD, therefore, issued a contract to Central Cariboo Disposal, which did put a proposal forward to do that task.

Gold Trail will continue to be a collector of recyclables, but for MMBC, he adds.

Glen says she has no comment at this time.

More information on the reasoning and savings from combining garbage and recycling pickup, is available online at www.cariboord.bc.ca, under Latest News.