Garbage rates on rise

Roger Knox - Vernon Morning Star Published: July 01, 2010 6:00 PM

Increased tipping fees at the North Okanagan Regional District’s recycling and disposal facilities means it costs more to collect garbage in Vernon. City council adopted a bylaw to increase rates for commercial and residential refuse and recycling collection. Effective Monday, NORD, which operates local landfills, will increase tipping fees for garbage collection from $62 to $75 a tonne. Vernon residential customers will see garbage collection go from $19.23 to $24.12 per quarter and recycling pickup go from $5.50 to $8.28 per quarter. Commercial properties where dumpsters are not used will see one-day-a-week collection of garbage climb from $71.43 to $75 per quarter. For more than one pickup a week, the cost will go from $160.97 to $169.02 per quarter for each additional pickup. NORD has created a fund to establish reserves for the long-term closure of landfills and the acquisition of property for new facilities.

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NORD ready to introduce increased tipping fees

New recycling and disposal fees take effect Monday at all North Okanagan Regional District recycling and disposal facilities. The new fees are designed to encourage separation and increase diversion of recyclable materials. The most significant change is the establishment of a new category of waste known as “Regulated material.” Regulated material includes items such as asphalt roofing, yard and garden waste, glass, scrap metal and wood. Customers disposing of mixed loads of refuse containing regulated material will be assessed a tipping fee of $145/tonne as there are separate locations at each site to deposit these materials. The new fee structure aims to limit the amount of valuable resources being buried.

Customers will also notice an increase in the refuse disposal fee from $63/tonne to $75/tonne.The minimum charge for refuse disposal will continue to be $3.Part of the increase in the refuse tipping fee is a result of the NORD board of directors’ decision to enact a closure reserve surcharge. Five dollars per tonne of MSW disposed at all NORD recycling and disposal facilities will be set aside in a closure reserve fund.