Lake Country council has tossed a proposed curbside food-waste plan into the bin, joining Kelowna, West Kelowna, and Peachland in scrapping the idea over high costs and messy implementation concerns.
At council’s June 17 meeting, it heard that 40 per cent household garbage is compostable. The Regional District Central Okanagan program would let residents add food scraps to green bins, switch organics pickup to weekly, and reduce garbage collection to every two weeks.
However, the cost—estimated at $63–$70 annually per household, potentially climbing above $150 without Kelowna’s participation—and a new $12‑million transfer station have raised red flags.
Councillor Tricia Brett supported diverting organics from landfill, but had concerns.
“The waning support for this program makes it an obvious one … the cost is far too high,” she said.
She added that while residents value organics for soil improvement, “we need to explore other options.”
Mayor Blair Ireland agreed, warning that removing organic materials would harm local ecosystems.
“We have to find a better way—the cost is high,” he said.
Lake Country joined the other municipalities in saying no to the program at this time.
