Pilot project helped reduce recycling contamination levels

The pilot also found that 6.7 per cent of households were considered “repeat offenders” who contributed to a third of overall recycling contamination.

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The top three contaminates identified in the pilot were flexible plastics, such as blue bags, wrappers, grocery bags, chip bags and wrappers; garbage; and Styrofoam.

Data from the pilot will be used by Waste Ambassadors to targe the high-contamination areas with physical cart checking, as well as used as an educational tool for the general public.

“The good news is the pilot has shown a huge percentage of our residents are recycling correctly, and this direct approach to recycling education can really help improve the quality of recycling by providing residents timely personalized feedback based on their actual recycling habits,” RDCO Supervisor of Solid Waste Services, Cynthia Coates, said.

Throughout the program, a total of 8,777 postcards were mailed out to residents.

The special technology added to the four recycling trucks for the pilot cost a total of $68,000, half of which was paid for by Recycle B.C., one of the partners in the program.

The RDCO said options to implement the use of this specialized technology for recycling collection on a more permanent basis would be explored.