Garbage and Recycling

Garbage and Recycling

This page summarizes key points about garbage and recycling collection in Blueridge. In addition it discusses issues around bears and garbage. For full details, see the DNV website.

Collection Days

Garbage and recycling collection doesn’t happen on holidays, and your collection day changes from time to time as a result. Schedules are mailed to DNV residents annually. You can see and download the collection schedule for your address here on the DNV website. You can also install the DNVCollect app on your phone to remind you of collections the night before:

These apps also notify you if something unexpectedly changes collection days. For example, if snow makes the roads too difficult for the trucks.

Key Rules About Garbage and Recycling

These come from this page and others on the DNV website.

  • IMPORTANT: bins may NOT be set out the night before. You can be fined for doing so. Put bins out no earlier than 5:30 am on collection day. This reduces the chance of bears being attracted to garbage cans. (See below for more on bears.)
  • Put garbage and recycling cans on the street with handles facing out to make them easy for the crew to grab. (They won’t be emptied if the handles are wrong way around.)
  • Don’t let bins touch each other or block driveways, and keep them at least 1 m away from parked cars.
  • Unlock the clips on the rolling bins and secure them to the handles. (The bins will not be emptied if they are locked.)
  • Green waste must go in the organics bins. Paper bags containing yard trimmings must be inside the organics bins and cannot be set on the ground. Non-standard bins are not accepted and will not be picked up. (This differs from some other areas in Metro Vancouver. If you are used to using commercially purchased paper bags or nonstandard cans for green/yard waste, those are not accepted in the DNV.)
  • No plastic of any kind is allowed in the green waste bins. Not even plastic marked as biodegradable.
  • Animal waste should be double bagged and put into the garbage bin, NOT the green waste bin.
  • Bins must not be overflowing. Waste and organics must fit inside the bins.
  • Food scraps are considered green waste and go into the organics cart, not the garbage. (Tip: put smelly food scraps – including meat scraps – in a brown paper bag and keep it in the freezer. Then add it to the green bin the morning of collection. This cuts down on odor and avoids attracting animals, particularly bears!)
  • Lightweight garbage and recycling should be put inside a bag of some kind to avoid having it be blown off the truck or out of bins before pickup. Examples:
    • Shredded paper should be put in a paper bag before being put in the yellow mixed paper collection bag.
    • Styrofoam peanuts, candy wrappers, and similar items should be placed inside a bag before being put in the garbage bin.
  • Cut the plastic straps that hold beverage cans together to avoid holes that animals can get stuck in. These items are garbage, not recycling.
  • Wash all food containers. Dirty containers contaminate recycling and may be diverted to the landfill, and any food left in garbage or recycling bins can attract bears.
  • Not all plastics are accepted for recycling, but which are recyclable changed on Jan 1, 2023 when Recycle BC began accepting a wider array of items. Plastic utensils and straws, for example, used to be considered garbage but now can be recycled. Check the Waste Wizard or download the list of recyclable items from this page if you are unsure about what can be recycled.
  • Despite everyone’s best efforts, some garbage will not quite make it into the trucks on collection day. We can all help with this problem by picking up garbage we find in front of our homes. Those who want to help even more can consider joining the Adopt A Street program and regularly picking up the garbage along a street or trail.
  • If your bins are damaged, lost, or stolen, use this form to report the problem. Damage can often be repaired free of charge, and lost or stolen bins can be replaced.

  • Additional bins can be acquired from the district, but may be subject to fees depending on the size and how many you need.

Recycling Centres

Not everything can be collected at the curb. Details about what is and is not collectable are here on the DNV website. Have questions about what is garbage, what is recyclable, and what can and cannot be set out for curbside collection? Check out Waste Wizard, a tool available on the DNV website and the phone apps to answer all your waste and recycling questions!

Garbage and recycling that cannot be picked up with your weekly collection can be taken to the North Shore Recycling and Waste Centre (previously called the transfer station) at 30 Riverside Drive. There is a charge for garbage which varies with weight and what you are throwing away. Recycling is free, and includes many items including electronics, light bulbs, batteries, paint, insecticides, motor oil, and antifreeze, among others.

Garbage and Bears

Bears are regularly present in Blueridge and will feed on garbage if they can. Bears that do this can become both a nuisance and a risk, and are destroyed. We can avoid this by carefully managing our garbage and recycling.

The DNV provided garbage and organics bins are animal resistant, but are definitely not bear proof. Ideally, all garbage and recycling bins would be stored inside a secure garage or shed until collection day. However, some Blueridge homes don’t have garages and some garages have been converted into living spaces. Still other garages are used for activities that don’t work well with garbage cans present. For those situations, here are some tips to minimize bear interest in your garbage and organics. Some of these come from this DNV website page, some from the North Shore Black Bear Society, and others from local residents.

  • Consider building a shed for bins that cannot be stored in a garage. Anything that reduces odor and accessibility reduces the chance of bears making a meal of your waste.
  • Bins that must be left outside should be secured so they cannot be tipped over. Bungee cords securing them to a post holding up a carport roof would do the job, for example.
  • If possible, freeze food scraps and put them into your organics bin on the morning of your collection. This includes all meat, bones, and skin, among other things. If you freeze these items in a paper bag, the entire bag can be put into the organics bin. If you use a plastic bag or container be sure not to put anything plastic into the bin.
  • Wrap food and kitchen scraps in newspaper (which is allowed in the organics bin). This helps keep your bin clean and smell less.
  • Layer your organics in the bin. Garden waste below food scraps will absorb liquid, keeping the can cleaner, and similar trimmings above food will mask odor.
  • Clean your organics and garbage bins occasionally. Simply hosing them out is a good start, but let them dry before using them again. If they smell, rinse them with a solution of vinegar and water.
  • Food containers thrown in the garbage and recycling (blue bins) should be washed or rinsed to reduce odor.
  • Diapers are a strong bear attractant. Keep them indoors until the morning of your collection.
  • Fruit trees also attract bears. The District has been known to fine residents for having fruit on trees. If you have fruit trees, manage them carefully, prune them to reduce the crop, and harvest regularly. Avoid leaving windfall fruit on the ground.

Working together we can reduce the number of bears killed by managing our garbage and recycling more carefully.