A plan to add food scraps to Kelowna乌鸦传媒檚 curbside collection is likely to be shelved.
City staff are recommending against joining the Regional District of Central Okanagan乌鸦传媒檚 (RDCO) proposed food waste program, saying the move doesn乌鸦传媒檛 make financial or logistical sense at this time.
乌鸦传媒淭here are significant uncertainties with location, design, technical features, and space requirements,乌鸦传媒� staff wrote in a report going to council on June 9. 乌鸦传媒淭hese factors乌鸦传媒攃ombined with cost乌鸦传媒攎ake this the wrong time to proceed.乌鸦传媒�
The RDCO乌鸦传媒檚 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. While 73 per cent of surveyed residents liked the idea, city staff say the math doesn乌鸦传媒檛 work.
Kelowna households currently pay $198 per year for curbside collection. Adding food waste service would bump that up by $60 to $70乌鸦传媒攁 30 to 35 per cent increase.
The city乌鸦传媒檚 Glenmore landfill already handles about 45,000 tonnes of organic material each year, but isn乌鸦传媒檛 equipped to process food waste due to space, odour, and wildlife concerns. Staff say a new transfer station would be needed乌鸦传媒攅stimated at $12 million, though likely higher in an urban setting.
Another challenge is future growth. About 65 per cent of new homes in Kelowna will be apartments, which aren乌鸦传媒檛 part of the curbside program. Commercial waste from hotels, grocers, schools, and restaurants wasn乌鸦传媒檛 included in the proposal either.
Staff aren乌鸦传媒檛 against the idea entirely. They乌鸦传媒檙e asking council to revisit food waste collection in the 2030 Regional Solid Waste Management Plan, with a focus on including both multi-family and commercial sectors.
For now, though, the city isn乌鸦传媒檛 ready to bite.
乌鸦传媒淪taff recommend not proceeding乌鸦传媒� due to the estimated cost impacts, uncertainty in the implementation, and a preference to consider impacts to the program from commercial food waste and the growing percentage of multi-family units.乌鸦传媒�
