Nelson, BC: Effective July 22, 2026, the Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK) will reduce operating hours at the Riondel Satellite Recycling Depot to one day per week. The depot will be open Wednesdays from 8:30 am to 11:30 am.
This change follows direction from the RDCK Board at its February 2026 meeting, where staff were asked to reduce service levels in order to reduce cost and evaluate the depot’s long-term viability. A full review of the site will be considered as part of the 2027 budget process, with a focus on site utilization rates and overall demand.
More fulsome waste management services, including diversion services for materials that are not accepted at the Riondel facility (such as foam, flexible plastics, large appliances, propane tanks, car batteries, scrap metal, yard & garden waste, clean wood, etc.) are located at the Crawford Bay Transfer Station and Core Recycling Depot. See the table below for a summary of the updated operational hours for both facilities.
| FACILITY | HOURS OF OPERATION (as of July 22, 2026) |
|---|---|
| Riondel Satellite Recycling Depot 232 Fowler Street | Wednesday 8:30 am – 11:30 am |
| Crawford Bay Transfer Station and Core Recycling Depot 16798 Crawford Creek Road | Summer (April 1 – September 30) Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday 9:00 am – 3:00 pm Winter (October 1 – March 31) Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday 10:00 am – 3:00 pm |
Waste management is a collective responsibility. The RDCK strives to provide sufficient waste management facilities throughout the region to enable residents to successfully manage the waste we generate, while ensuring the cost of these services are reasonable. As there already is a transfer station and core recycling depot less than 20 km away, Riondel does not meet the requirements to have its own transfer station. In 2018, the Riondel Commission established a standalone waste service, paid solely by the residents of Riondel. While the cost of the waste hauling is paid by the community, the overall cost of the service was subsidized by the recycling depot operations. The Riondel Commission has recommended that the independent waste disposal service hours will also be reduced to Wednesdays only, to align with the Recycling Depot hours.
Change always coincides with new challenges. Staff will work hard to ensure this change is implemented as smoothly as possible and address challenges as they arise. Staff are also working on an illegal dumping policy and advocacy with other jurisdictions in the area to mitigate irresponsible disposal of waste.
ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND INFORMATION
In the face of rising costs to manage waste (due to inflation, increasing regulatory complexity, etc.), the RDCK committed to undertaking an efficiency study of the Resource Recovery system. This has been a multi-year, district wide process directed by the current Resource Recovery Plan.
A System Efficiency Study completed by third-party consultants in 2024 identified the RDCK Resource Recovery system provides residents with a high level of service compared to similar regional districts in the study, alongside a relatively high cost per capita to pay for this level of service, and some variability in the level of service provided throughout the region.
One of the realities of having provided a higher level of service than similar regional districts over the years, is realizing cost efficiencies to mitigate further increases in taxation, will require some decrease in service levels. There is room within the RDCK system to reduce service levels and still maintain a higher than average level of service compared to the other areas assessed.
The System Efficiency Study recommended the closure of several standalone satellite recycling depots that were located less than 30 minutes drive to other RDCK facilities and receive less than 50kg/hour of recyclables (Winlaw, Kokanee, and Riondel). Even with this change, benchmarking to other regional districts in BC indicates the RDCK maintains a high level of service compared to other regional districts.