VE
ALLEY CHO
The Invermere
16
1
$
Local farmers reap Slow Food reward
9
Conservation area cleared by volunteers
05 INCLUDES GST
Groundswell’s operations manager Patsy Lussier (left) and education co-ordinator Ally Candy display bags of the delicious produce grown at the Community Greenhouse. Community gardening beds are still available for rent. See page 8 for details. PHOTO BY BREANNE MASSEY
PUBLICATIONS MAIL REGISTRATION NO. 7856
RDEK invoices MMBC for lack of service STEVE HUBRECHT steve@invermerevalleyecho.com The Regional District of East Kooteany (RDEK) is sending a large bill to Multi-Material BC (MMBC), charging the organization for recycling services the RDEK says it had to do on MMBC’s behalf. The RDEK board of directors voted unanimously at their Thursday, April 7th governance and regional services meeting to send a $764,000 invoice to MMBC for costs the RDEK incurred collecting and processing recyclable materials identified in the Recycling Regulation of B.C. as part of the Packaging and Printed Paper Stewardship Plan operated by MMBC. The MMBC organization took over responsibility for most recycling programs in B.C. in May 2014, and ever since local officials and residents have been pointing to the drop in recycling
in rural part of the province, including it, we decided to bill MMBC for the here in the East Kootenay. cost that we are incurring. We’ll see “When MMBC came out, the rural what happens next,” said RDEK Area F communities were upset because director and vice-chair Wendy Booth, what they were proposing wasn’t go- who was not present at the meeting. ing to meet our needs,” said Radium The request for a decision by the diHot Springs mayor Clara Reinhardt, rectors on the matter was written by adding that the RDEK directors are not RDEK environmental services mantruly expecting the ager Kevin PaterWe’re mostly trying invoice to be paid. son and outlines “We’re mostly that, prior to May to get people’s trying to get peo- attention and show that 2014, MMBC told ple’s attention and the RDEK that its one size doesn’t fi t all show that one size yellow bin program doesn’t fit all when when it comes to recycling would “not fit” the it comes to recy- programs. MMBCs service CLARA REINHARDT model. cling programs,” MAYOR, RADIUM HOT SPRINGS she said. In the yellow bin “The RDEK has consistently and con- program, 739 large yellow dumpster tinually been in touch with MMBC and bins are placed in East Kootenay the Minister of Environment about the communities, usually near businesslack of service that we have received es, schools or in other prominent loin our region. Essentially, we want the cations, for commercial, residential, service, and since we are not getting industrial and institutional use to col-
lect recyclable materials. “The RDEK was not permitted to engage with MMBC in any contract negotiations for service delivery. MMBC subsequently issued a request for proposals whereby only one submission was received. Because the submission was considered to be too expensive, no service was provided to to the residents of the Kootenay region,” wrote Paterson. “To date, the only East Kootenay location funded by MMBC is operated out of the Cranbrook bottle depot. The RDEK has maintained recycling services to its residents through continued taxation and provision of the yellow bin program.” Reinhardt said that RDEK staff calculated how much of its yellow bin waste was coming from residential sources and consequently how much was spent by the RDEK on work MMBC was supposed to do. See A3
Final Cinefest Film for the season What does ART mean to you?
Tuesday April 26th at 7 pm
Grandma
Visit columbiavalleyarts.com for our current events calendar, or call 250-342-4423.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO PYNELOGS!
1914 - 2014
CELEBRATING 100 YEARS