Kamloops residents should not notice much of a difference in their recycling pickup schedules after the fire at Emterra Environmental in Valleyview, the only recycling processing facility in the city.

That is because the Thompson-Nicola Regional District says it is working with the City and Recycle BC to ensure that recycling keeps moving.

TNRD Solid Waste and Recycling Manager, Adriana Mailloux, says recyclables from Kamloops have been going to the South Thompson Eco-Depot in Pritchard, since the morning of June 7, before being taken to another Recycle BC facility in the Lower Mainland.

Mailloux says residents who use that Eco-Depot frequently will see the increase in recyclables on the property, though she says they likely won’t be significantly impacted.

“We appreciate the understanding of residents using the South Thompson Eco-Depot while these temporary changes are in place on site,” Mailloux said. “We were happy to be able to support one of our member municipalities and avoid interruptions in recycling collection.”

The TNRD also says Recycling BC is covering the costs to process and haul the extra recyclable materials to the Lower Mainland.

At this time, it is not clear what caused the fire which started in baled cardboard inside the Emterra compound around 11:20 a.m. Tuesday morning, June 6. The TNRD says the Emterra facility is expected to return to full operations next week.

Garbage pickup in Kamloops is not being diverted as the TNRD notes it is being taken to the Mission Flats landfill as normal.

Recycling collection services will not be impacted by today’s fire at Emterra Environmental. Wednesday is collection day for Zone 3. Please set out your collection carts by 7:00 am. To find your collection day, download the WasteWise app! https://t.co/BZ0GZ46fti pic.twitter.com/7R5tvzE0IP

— City of Kamloops (@cityofkamloops) June 7, 2023