Following a successful eight-month trial the Regional District of Central Okanagan (RDCO) book recycling program is being extended for 2024.
The trial program was launched last spring after it was discovered that residents were tossing books into curbside recycling carts, material Recycle BC does not allow.
Books improperly placed in recycling carts count toward the region鈥檚 overall contamination rates, which has led to significant surcharges in the past.
Since the pilot launched in mid-April, it has diverted over 40,000 kilograms of books from the landfill.
鈥淩esidents continue to make effective use of this program so that books don鈥檛 end up in curbside recycling carts, or unnecessarily at the landfill,鈥� said Cynthia Coates, supervisor of solid waste services with the RDCO.
The book recycling program partners with the Okanagan Regional Library (ORL), at select participating locations, as well as Planet Earth Recycling which manages the pickup and recycling portion.
If books are damaged or outdated (more than five years old), they can be added to book bins at any of the following Okanagan Regional Library branches:
- Downtown 琉璃神社 Library branch on Ellis Street
- Mission Library in the Capital News Centre
- Rutland Library in Plaza 33
- West 琉璃神社 Library
- Lake Country Municipal Hall next to the library
- Peachland Library
All the books collected get a final thorough sort, and good books are cleaned and resold. The rest have the bindings cut off and the paper is recycled.
More information about the project can be found on the .
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