There were red tag days for many Kimberley residents last week, the first week the new Solid Waste Bylaw was in effect.
Many residents returned home to find red tags affixed to garbage bags letting them know that they were not in compliance with the bylaw.
One of the most common infractions is that people were unaware that the new bylaw requires garbage to be put out in cans, not just bags. This is primarily aimed at keeping wildlife out of garbage as it sits waiting for pickup.
Specifically:
• Height 57 cm max (22.5 inches)
• Width at top 50 cm max (19.5 inches)
• Handle dimensions 13 x 7 cm (5 x 2.75 inches)
• Similar to Rubbermaid “Roughneck” 77 litre (20.3 gal) (shown below)
• The allowable weight is 13 kilograms (28.6 lbs) per bag and 4 bags maximum/2 bags per can.
• Only 2 garbage cans are permitted per household.
• No loose garbage may be placed in containers. Garbage must be contained in plastic garbage bags and the bags must be tied closed
• “Plastic garbage bags” means a sturdy plastic bag specifically marketed to store waste for collection and excludes plastic bags that are intended for other purposes.
No shopping type bags may be used.
• Loose garbage will not be accepted
• Garbage cans must be placed at curbside on pick up day after 5 a.m. and before 7:30 a.m. Cans must be removed from the curb by 10 p.m. of the day of collection.
The other big changes are that the City doesn’t want yard waste put out curbside for pick up and no recyclables are to be put in with household garbage. That means glass, aluminum cans, paper and cardboard should be set aside and brought to the Transfer Station where there are containers provided for all recyclables.
The City hopes these changes will mean less weight in city trucks headed to the transfer station. Less weight means less money spent. The City currently spends about $550,000 each year to the Regional District of East Kootenay to handle the municipality’s garbage at the transfer station.