Hot on the heels of commercial composting starting up at the Revelstoke Landfill, the Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD) has announced that it is now offering residents and commercial facilities direct drop-off of compostable waste at the site.
Effective immediately, Revelstoke residents interested in bringing their compostable material to the facility will be able to drop it off. There is a $10 minimum fee for disposing of compost, while larger loads are charged at $120/tonne. In addition, they say compostable material can only be deposited in compost-certified bags.
The commercial compost collection program began on November 1. Although CSRD staff say, they will not enforce commercial composting collection fees until late next year. Collection trucks drive around collecting food waste for the program, and businesses pay a fee for this, much like regular garbage collection. However, now that the site has a direct drop-off, businesses can deliver their food waste directly as an alternative option.
Allowing residents to drop off food waste is the next step in the CSRD’s food waste collection goals in Revelstoke. A residential compost collection program would need to be spearheaded by the City of Revelstoke.
Read our coverage of the commercial composting program here:
Everything you need to know about Revelstoke’s new commercial composting program
The CSRD says the project’s goal is to reduce food waste by collecting it locally and processing it into viable compost material that can enrich the soil rather than dumping it into the landfill.
Acceptable materials for the compost program include:
- Edible food products (raw and cooked) – meat, fruit, vegetables, bread, pasta, rice, nuts, dairy
- Bones
- Eggshells
- Cooking oil
- Food-soiled paper products
- Coffee filters
- Tea bags
The facility’s capacity to handle large amounts of compost allows materials that generally wouldn’t decompose in backyard compost to be deposited into the facility.
A press release from the CSRD says compost from the Revelstoke facility will be regularly monitored and tested to ensure it meets all provincial and federal regulatory standards before being marketed for public use within the community.