Kelowna Councillor Gord Lovegrove could not get his colleagues to bite on adding food waste to Kelowna’s curbside collection at council’s June 9 meeting.
Council discussed the issue following a staff recommendation against joining the Regional District of Central Okanagan’s (RDCO) proposed program.
The Glenmore landfill handles about 45,000 tonnes of organic material each year, but isn’t equipped to process food waste due to space, odour, and wildlife concerns. Staff said a new transfer station would be needed—estimated at $12 million, though likely higher in an urban setting.
Having a new transfer station would extend the life of the Glenmore landfill by about two years, which means $24 million in revenue for the city and $85 million in regional economic benefit council heard.
However, staff noted significant uncertainties with location, design, technical features, and space requirements.
“These factors—combined with cost—make this the wrong time to proceed,” a staff report stated.
Lovegrove pointed out that there is wide support throughout the Central Okanagan for the plan.
“If we get that transfer station going, we’re learning and doing this, and our regional partners can do it,” Lovegrove said. “If we vote this down—we have let down our regional partners as well.”
While 73 per cent of Central Okanagan residents surveyed liked the idea, without Kelowna’s participation, less than 13 per cent would be willing to take part. About 50 per cent of residents support paying for the program.
The cost would be approximately $63 per year for a single-family household. Without Kelowna on board that amount rises to more than $150.
The RDCO’s plan involves letting residents toss food waste into green bins, expanding yard waste pickup to weekly year-round, and reducing garbage collection to every other week.
However, the program would only service single-family homes, and not multi-residential or commercial properties.
“The one thing we know about the City of Kelowna is the fastest growing area of our housing has been multi-family,” Coun. Luke Stack said.
The RDCO is also pitching its food waste collection program to other Central Okanagan communities.
