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(Submitted photo/Regional District of North Okanagan)
Organic Waste Collection

Organic waste projects in Vernon and Lumby receive provincial support

Dec 3, 2021 | 12:51 PM

The MLA for Vernon-Monashee believes new provincial organic waste project could help Vernon and Lumby decrease greenhouse gas emissions, create jobs and produce compost for residents.

The B.C. Government announced Friday that new and expanded organic waste-processing facilities and organic collection programs are being funded under the CleanBC Organic Infrastructure and Collection Program.

The program is providing as much as $12.48-million to help fund 23 projects in B.C., including six organic infrastructure projects and 17 collection programs, which are expected to break ground in the spring.

The Village of Lumby and the City of Vernon are amongst the communities receiving funding for programs.

Vernon will receive $936,720 to support the collection of food and yard waste from over 14,000 residential homes. Lumby will get $17,144 to support a food waste collection program that will serve 750 residential homes.

“Everyone in our province can take actions to reduce their carbon footprint and help tackle climate change,” said MLA Harwinder Sandhu.

“In Lumby and Vernon, this will now be even easier. By collecting and processing food waste, we can collectively reduce our emissions and have more locally-available compost for our farmers and our own gardens.”

The province states that organic waste represents 40 per cent of material sent to municipal landfills and generates 3.5 per cent of the province’s greenhouse gas emissions each year. It’s estimated that the 23 new projects will result in the reduction of as much as 525,567 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent over 10 years.

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