Council's concerns on recycling go further than just the new 24 Hour recycling station

A much tidier drop off site was
found Friday at the Kaien Road facility
than that of last weekend 

While the region's Recycling Centre tries to sort out some of the growing pains of their new 24 hour approach to recycling options.  The topic of the recently opened, all hours access station at the Kaien Road location made for a lively discussion at Prince Rupert City Council on Monday evening.

A number of Council members outlined  their disappointment at how during the early days of the break in period, local residents have seemingly overwhelmed the Centre after hours, and with that made a bit of a mess of things.

A number of Photos through social media regarding the 24 hour site in recent days have sort of highlighted the less than respectful nature of recent events.

As some of those who have been making use of the site, for the most part have basically just abandoned their recycling items once the bins provided are full, leaving the site a major eyesore as bins overflow, debris piles up around the site and that which can, blows around the surrounding area.

Councillor Kinney was the first to call attention to the situation on Monday night, though he was not alone in his review of the unsightly mess of the weekend past.

Councillor Garon also offered up some thoughts on the issue, recounting her previous concerns over the development of the site and suggesting she would have proceeded differently in the implementation of the program.

Preferring to see the main building of the Recycling Centre remain open for longer hours, adding that the landfill site issues  are also part of the solution and should be addressed as part of Council's review of the topic.

Councillor Ashley, who also sits on Regional District, which oversees the Recycling program in the area, reminded Council that in the end the issue comes down to cost and how the City and Region wish to approach that topic,

Councillor Thorkelson was more on the side of the debate that Councillor Garon was holding, suggesting that Council needs to be engaged in a larger discussion on concerns related to both recycling and landfill issues.

To conclude the evenings overview of the situation, Mayor Mussallem offered up the need for consultation on the concerns with those communities that surround the city and make use of both the landfill and recycling centre options.

Suggesting that it's a topic that needs a more regional approach and that the City needs to engage with the other communities to reach a solution to the issues.

You can review the full discussion on the troubles of the Recycling station and the larger concerns of City Council on the theme, from the City's Video Archive.  The discussion begins at the 1 hour forty eight minute mark and continues to the two hour mark.

For more items on developments from Prince Rupert City Council see our archive page here.