Over the Canada Day long weekend, while many Rupertites were celebrating, some were recycling.
At the Skeena-Queen Charlotte Regional Recycling Depot, the outdoor transfer bins were overflowing with a collection of glass bottles and cardboard.
Katherine Spong took photos of the mess on July 1 and told the Northern View people should “either pile neatly on top or wait for the next day’s clearing. I am not sure how hard that is. We look like a bunch of hillbillies raised by wolves.”
For the past year, the recycling depot added staff on Sundays, “which is above and beyond what our normal hours of operation are, just to deal with the transfer station and overflow issues,” Daniel Fish, the corporate officer of the North Coast Regional District said.
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“It just so happens that this past Sunday worked out to be a stat [holiday], so the overflow was happening from Saturday evening until Monday morning when we were back at the depot.”
Fish said despite transfer stations being full, which people can put their recycling in when the main facility is closed, many are still leaving recycling there. Glass, which is only accepted inside the depot, often lines the ground around the bins.
“All I would say is to use common sense,” Fish said. “If you see the transfer station overflowing on a stat holiday where it’s unstaffed, we recognize that is unfortunate, but we ask that residents do be patient and perhaps wait until the following day to drop off during regular hours.”
READ MORE: City landfill too full to accept boats, other large materials
keili.bartlett@thenorthernview.com
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