Recycling

• Newspaper
• Flyers
• Magazines
• Catalogues 
• Notepads and loose-leaf paper
• Envelopes and Cards
• Non-foil gift wrap
• Shredded paper – Must be placed in a closed paper box or bag and labelled “Recycling-Shredded Paper” before being placed in your Blue Bin

• Corrugated cardboard boxes, for example, grocery and liquor store boxes
• Large cardboard packaging must be flattened and stacked, with 30”x30” max dimensions then placed in or beside your Blue Bin
• Unsoiled pizza boxes
• Cardboard and boxboard for Cereal boxes; shoe boxes; tissue boxes; paper towel and toilet paper tubes; detergent boxes; etc.
• Moulded pulp packaging for egg cartons, take-out beverage trays, and paper-based plant pots
• Paper bags (also called kraft paper) and envelopes
• Multi-layered paper bags for flour, sugar, etc.

• Plastic bottles
• Plastic wide mouth jars
• Plastic jugs with screw tops
• Plastic bottles (non-beverage)
• Plastic takeout containers
• Find Out More About Takeout Containers Here
•  Takeout drink cups
• Plastic tubs and lids
• Plastic Plant pots
• “Clamshell” containers
• Single use coffee pods (empty, rinse, and remove lids)
• Disposable plastic plates, bowls, cups, and utensils
• Plastic food storage containers (ex. Glad, Ziploc)
• Plastic tape dispensers 

• Gable top cartons for juice, milk, or other beverages 
• Paper cups for hot and cold beverages
• Multi-laminated paper packaging-microwavable bowls/cups for soup
• Drink boxes
• Frozen dessert boxes for ice cream, frozen yogurt etc. 

• Steel cans (non beverage) for pet food, vegetables, etc.
• Aerosol cans 
• Spiral wound cans
• Aluminum cans
• Aluminum foil and containers 

• Glass jars and bottles
• Plastic bags and overwrap
• Flexible plastics (also referred to as “other flexible plastic packaging”)
• Padded/bubble envelopes
• Styrofoam/foam packaging

These items must be taken to a RecycleBC depot 

View a Complete List of Prohibited Materials

The Town entered a partnership with RecycleBC in 2022. RecycleBC provides a financial incentive for the Packaging and Paper Products collected in the curbside program. All monies received from RecycleBC for the curbside recycling collection services are rebated into the Curbside Collection program, which reduces the user fees on your utility bill for the service. Under the RecycleBC agreement, Creston may be subject to Service Level Failure.

Penalties for the improper separation of recyclables. Service Level Failure Penalties for recycling contamination at the collection stage charged to the Town would have to be made up through increased user fees.

PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU ONLY PLACE RECYCLABLE MATERIAL IN YOUR BLUE BOX!

At this time, lids on curbside recycling bins will not be permitted. Lids on bins generally have a tighter fit, are more difficult for collectors to remove than those on garbage cans, and are more prone to cracking and breaking. Additionally, because residents are entitled to put out unlimited recycling bins, it could significantly slow the collection process down if lids had to be removed from multiple bins at each household. This causes an increase in truck emissions as well.

Concerned about litter? We kindly ask that if you find recyclable materials that have escaped bins on or near your property that you pick them up and put them in your bin for the next collection. Some steps can be taken to reduce the amount of litter from your recycling bins:

• Put out more bins in order to keep the level of material in each bin below the rim and help prevent recyclables from falling and blowing out.
• Organize your recyclables so that heavier items are on top of the lighter items.
• Putting your recyclables out on the morning of your collection day instead of the night before will also help reduce litter.

RecycleBC has mandated the use of bins instead of bags for the following reasons:

• Eliminates the waste created by unrecyclable plastic bags
• Eliminates the need to open bags to remove recyclables at sorting facilities
• Eliminates bags getting tangled in sorting equipment
• It also eliminates the cost of purchasing bags for residents

RecycleBC takes the recyclables collected through curbside programs and depots and transports them to facilities to be sorted. They are then baled and prepped for sale on end markets. Visit https://recyclebc.ca/post-collection/ for more info on the recycling process.

Flexible plastics cannot be picked up at the curb because they are difficult to separate from other recyclables in the sorting facility. They wrap around machinery and impair the recyclability of other recyclables.

The Flexible Plastic category consists of: plastic bags of all types, plastic overwrap, crinkly plastic (ex. chip and granola bar wrappers), stand-up and zipper lock pouches, flexible packaging with plastic seal, non-food protective packaging, woven and net plastic bags, protective and squishy cushion packaging (ex. bubble envelopes), and any other type of plastic film.

Depots can collect “other flexible plastics” while curbside programs cannot because depot recycling is already sorted and the flexible plastics can’t contaminate other recyclable materials at a sorting facility. If your Blue Bin contains flexible plastics it will not be picked up.

The 412 Helen Street depot collects the “Other Flexible Plastic Packaging” category. Here, they are collected as one stream, meaning you can sort all your flexible plastics together and place them in the same bin at the depot. The depot’s hours of operation are Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

What’s not included in depot collection of “Other Flexible Plastic Packaging”: Plastic-lined paper or paper-lined plastic, plastic strapping, flexible/soft 6-pack rings, plastics labeled biodegradable, compostable, or oxo-degradable. With our current recycling program, these must go into the garbage.

• If you are unable to take your flexible plastics to the depot, they can be thrown in the garbage.
• Please note that the RDCK Landfill does not accept flexible plastics as part of their recyclable collection as they are only a satellite depot.

For more information on flexible plastics, visit: https://recyclebc.ca/flexibleplastics/ 

When foam containers and cushion packaging are collected with other recyclables, they can break into pieces that mix with other materials. The pieces are difficult to separate, meaning less of the foam and other materials can be recycled. Foam packaging can be taken to the RDCK Recycling Depot (412 Helen Street) for recycling. If your Blue Bin contains styrofoam it will not be picked-up.

When glass is mixed with other Curbside Collection materials, it can easily break and mix with other materials. First and foremost, broken glass is a safety hazard for anyone handling recyclables. Broken glass is also difficult to separate, and therefore less of the glass and other materials can be recycled. Deposit glass bottles can be taken to Columbia Bottle Recycle (1420 Northwest Blvd) for a refund. Non-refundable glass containers and jars can be taken to the RDCK Recycling Depot for recycling. 

If your Blue Box contains glass, it will not be picked up.

We can appreciate wanting  to keep recyclable materials out of the landfill. However, materials that are not recycled under RecycleBC should not go in your blue bin. Contamination can be difficult to separate and damaging to sorting equipment, leading to more clean recyclables being thrown in the garbage.