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Plastic bags in green bins prompt 1k letters to Coquitlam residents

Tri-City residents continue to toss their plastic bags into green cans despite the region-wide ban.
garbage

Tri-City residents continue to toss their plastic bags into the green cans despite the region-wide ban.

And a few are on the verge of being fined.

The city of Coquitlam has issued more than 1,000 letters to single-family homeowners about dumping plastic in their green waste. Another 60 residents have been formally warned about their repeat violations and that they face bylaw penalties of $500.

Steffanie Warriner, Coquitlam's environmental services manager, said the city is stepping up its education drive so residents will know that plastic bags — even those labelled biodegradable or compostable — are not acceptable in their green cans.

Crews working for the city contractor Progressive Waste Solutions (formerly BFI Canada) can spot plastic bags during the curbside collection. "Because the driver can see what is in the load, the city can take a real-time audit of what's going in and from whom," Warriner said.

That, in turn, can set off a city probe.

Organics, which are banned from being mixed in with trash, are deposited at the Harvest Power site in Richmond.

Plastic bags that are included in the loads can mean higher tipping fees "and that undermines the affordability of the program," Warriner said, meaning municipal property tax bills may rise.

Last fall, the city of Port Coquitlam also issued a plea for residents and business to sort their garbage correctly.

On Thursday, PoCo operations manager Mani Deo said the city's in-house trash crews are still tagging contaminated carts. "Plastic bags in green waste carts continues to be an issue," he said.

So far, PoCo hasn't been fined but Multi-Materials BC (MMBC) has put the city on notice and a contamination management plan is in the works.

This spring, PoCo will launch a $50,000 outreach program to teach residents and businesses where to place their waste.

Meanwhile, MMBC also has its eye on Port Moody, which was told last year its recycling loads were seen to have contamination. "Bagged goods" and Styrofoam are the biggest pests.

Its public awareness campaign, called Let's Clean Up Our Recycling, aims to increase Port Moody's already high diversion rate (about 75% of Port Moody's waste does not end up in the landfill).

As in Coquitlam and PoCo, Port Moody has ample information on its city website and offers apps and social media tools to help people sort their trash, recycling and organics.

Still, plastic bags remain a sticking point as they're not easy to dispose of: Plastic bags need to be returned to the grocery stores or recycled at one of the Encorp Return-It depots around town.

Warriner suggested residents make the change and go without plastic bags entirely. Fabric bags can be used at grocery stores and brown paper bags can go into the green can. "Sometimes, a behaviour shift can result in a massive change for the overall population."

jwarren@tricitynews.com
@jwarrenTC


Confused about sorting? You can call for help:
• Coquitlam: 604-927-3500
• Port Coquitlam: 604-927-5496 or 604-927-5488
• Port Moody: 604-469-4574