Transfer Station

The Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) operates and maintains the Sparwood Transfer Station which is located at 1001 Highway 3

Hours of Operation

Hours: Open from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday to Saturday (closed Sundays and Statutory Holidays)
Phone: 250.425.0203

Regional Solid Waste Management Plan

The RDEK adopted the Regional Solid Waste Management Plan in 2003 which identified the following goals:

• To minimize, as much as possible, the generation of waste;
• To work towards reducing the quantity of waste being disposed;
• To manage waste through waste reduction, reuse, recycling, energy and material recovery, and residual management;
• To manage waste economically and efficiently;
• To educate citizens and businesses on how to reduce waste;
• To strive for annual decreases in per capita waste generation;
• To provide access to environmentally sound waste diversion and disposal facilities throughout the Regional District;
• To develop and implement a user pay system that will encourage citizens to participate in waste reduction efforts and gradually shift from the tax base system to the user pay system;
• To develop a 20-Year Plan that establishes an economical, technically feasible, and practical program to manage solid waste that is both environmentally safe and accepted by the public;
• To develop a plan that conforms to the strategies of higher levels of government;
• To coordinate and cooperate with neighbouring sub-regions and other Regional Districts on solid waste management; and
• To develop and promote partnerships with senior levels of government by acknowledging a shared responsibility in the protection and enhancement of the environment.

Prohibited Items

The following items are prohibited from deposit at the Transfer Station which have alternative disposal facilities or are designated reusable, recyclable or compostable:

Recycling at the Transfer Station

Even though the Transfer Station is designed to collect garbage from both residential vehicles and municipal garbage trucks, you can deposit your items for reuse and recycle as well! The first thing you'll notice to the right as you enter the site, is the yellow bin recycle area. The yellow bins take all your paper, cardboard, tin/aluminium cans, grocery bags and household plastics #1-#6 (except Styrofoam). There are also areas on site to leave your scrap metal, clean wood waste, yard waste, auto batteries and propane tanks.

Tires

There is an area for tires, however, unlike waste or recyclables, they are subject to a tipping fee as there are additional costs incurred for their handling and transportation.  For every new tire sold, the retailer charges an Advance Disposal Fee, also known as an “eco-fee” which is submitted to Tire Stewardship BC for the operation of the (provincial) scrap tire recycling program.  If you kept your old tires when you purchased your new tires and would like to keep them out of the landfill, you can drop them off (up to 4 tires), FREE OF CHARGE at Kal Tire (located at 601 and 735 Douglas Fir Drive), Mountain Mechanical (located at 743 Douglas Fir Drive) or at one of the province’s annual tire round up events. 

Please visit Tire Stewardship BC's website for more information on recycling your old tires.

Re-use Centre

There is also a Reuse Centre at the Sparwood Transfer Station, which accepts household items in good working condition.  It's free to drop items off, and free to pick items up at the Reuse Centre.  Some examples of things that can be taken to the Reuse Centre include:

• Chairs
• Furniture
• Books/Toys
• Light fixtures
• Pictures
• Small dishes

Items that CANNOT be accepted in the Reuse Centre include: large appliances; scrap metal; wood; clothing; automotive parts and mattresses. Televisions should be taken to the Fernie Bottle Depot, located at 1291 Ridgemont Avenue in Fernie BC, for recycling.