West Kelowna rejects bi-weekly garbage pick-up

The City of West Kelowna has rejected the idea of having its garbage picked up every second week.

The Regional District of Central Okanagan pitched the idea to council this week.

It said some of the reasons why it’s looking at the idea of picking-up garbage once every two weeks is to cut costs and reduce the amount of waste going to the landfill.

“A lot of people in the region don’t fill up their garbage can on a weekly basis. There’s a potential savings there by collecting it less frequently and other people think it’s a good way to divert more — to backyard compost, to recycling bins, to yard waste bins and consume a little bit less,” manager of environmental services Peter Rotheisler said.

West Kelowna mayor Doug Findlater said he understands that the regional district is trying to do, but it won’t work in his city.

“The reality is if you drive around and look at garbage bins, many of the lids are tipped up — they’ve already got so much stuff in it,” Findlater said.

Findlater feels a bi-weekly pick-up would also be an invitation to garbage bears and will likely lead to more illegal dumping in the bush.

He said if the regional district decides to go bi-weekly garbage pick-up, the city has the authority to continue with its weekly schedule.