Contamination Notice Program

Recycling contamination is a major obstacle in the recycling process and occurs when material that is not accepted for recycling is put in recycling totes. The CVRD curbside recycling program collects household paper and packaging on behalf of Recycle BC, a non-profit organization based out of Vancouver. A requirement in the contract with Recycle BC is that the CVRD must meet a contamination rate of 3% or less but, unfortunately, the contamination rate is currently around 10%.

In an effort to reduce the contamination rate, the CVRD is reaching out to residents when unaccepted material is identified in the curbside tote assigned to their address. Please take a moment to review what materials are acceptable in the curbside program – try our handy Cowichan Recyclopedia, or download the Cowichan Recycles app to your phone. If you have questions, or if you believe you have received a notice in error, please contact the Recycling Hotline at 250 746 2540.

Materials accepted in the program are household mixed paper and cardboard, plastic containers, paper packaging for liquids like milk and soup, and aluminum food containers. Materials such as glass and foam packaging cannot be collected curbside because they break into unrecoverable pieces, contaminating the rest of the load and creating a potentially dangerous situation for workers. Film plastic is not accepted at the curbside because it gets wrapped up in the sorting equipment, causing lengthy and expensive shutdowns. CVRD Recycling Centres accept hundreds of materials that cannot be collected at the curbside, at no charge.