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TNRD educates on how to use eco-depot on free dump day

During the day, people could dump the first $20 worth of refuse without charge
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Ryley Leduc (l) hands a number ticket to Dennis LaBrie

A free dump day held Saturday, May 11 was intended as an opportunity for local residents to learn how the new eco-depot in Clearwater operates, said Dennis LaBrie, Environmental Health Services operations supervisor with Thompson-Nicola Regional District.

During the day, people could dump the first $20 worth of refuse without charge.

With the normal rate of disposal at $60 per tonne, that amounted to a good-sized pickup or trailer load of garbage that could be thrown away for free.

Recyclable items, as usual, could be disposed of without charge, no matter the amount.

Several members of regional district staff were on hand to help out, along with workers from other eco-depots in the TNRD.

There were 32 landfills within the TNRD in the 1980s and 1990s, LaBrie said.

Now there are just two. All the garbage from the North Thompson as well as that from east of Kamloops goes into the landfill at Heffley Creek, while the landfill at Lower Nicola accepts waste from the remainder of the TNRD.

Having only two landfills operating means residents need to reduce, reuse and recycle as much as possible.

Clearwater’s new eco-depot has proven popular with users, said LaBrie.

One side is devoted to accepting recyclable materials. According to the TNRD website, these include used appliances (CFC-free), most batteries, cardboard, clean fill, glass containers, propane tanks, glass containers, tires (passenger or light truck, not on rims), used oil, and yard waste (less than 1,000 kg or five cubic meters per vehicle per day).

Appliances with CFCs, tires on rims and large quantities of yard waste can be disposed of for small fees.

Clearly marked bins show where each type of recyclable should go.

The second side of the eco-depot is devoted to non-recyclable waste. Users drive their vehicles over a weigh scale to access it, then go over the scale again when leaving. The disposal fee is based on the weight difference.

 

Most people like to load their non-recyclables in their vehicles first, then their recyclables, said LaBrie. When they get to the eco-depot, they can offload their recyclables into the various bins, then go over the scale to get rid of their non-recyclables.