The Town of Osoyoos has failed its latest recycling audit, with items like books and clothing being incorrectly tossed in bins.
During a Tuesday committee meeting, town staff shared the failed results from the latest Recycle BC audit, later approving a new recycling strategy.
"When people put material in recycling bin, they have good intentions, but sometimes we put things in there that we shouldn't," said Rod Risling, chief administrative officer.
"We do know that there's an issue within the community. It wasn't just a one time hit that we exceeded [recycling errors]. We've always been just on that line of potentially exceeding."
Top incorrectly recycled items within the town include: soft and hard cover books, ceramics, scrap metal, as well as textiles and clothing.
With the latest failed audit, Recycle BC has mandated the Town of Osoyoos create a plan to reduce such recycling errors.
As such, the town will be focusing more on education, training recycling collectors, enforcing recycling rules, and reporting back to Recycle BC.
Additional information will soon be posted to the town website, and stickers will be added to bins.
"If there are contaminants within recycling, we're gonna leave education material, and if the property owner has failed, or there's things in there that shouldn't be, we're gonna continue to repeat the audit on that same property until such time that we get compliance," Risling said.
Risling added that while there is a focus on a soft enforcement approach, repeated bin audits could warrant a visit from bylaw to offending properties.
Committee also discussed adequately cleaning recycling products.
"Anything that goes into the recycling needs to be clean. And I have seen several things, people throw peanut butter containers into the recycling, but they don't wash them out first," said mayor Sue McKortoff.
McKortoff added that unclean products get sorted back into the trash at the Osoyoos and District Sanitary Landfill.
Additionally, the committee went over simplifying recycling messaging.
"After the last meeting, I went on the website to try to figure out what is yes and no, and it's basically paralysis by analysis, there's so many options." said Coun. Johnny Cheong.
The town will likely look to other municipalities for more recycling and educational strategies. Risling added that there is a cost associated with the Recycle BC program, so there is incentive to improve.
The town anticipates Recycle BC will audit Osoyoos' recycling quarterly moving forward.
For more information on recycling standards, visit Recycle BC.
