West Vancouver is adding recycling bins to Ambleside Park, despite heaps of paper plates, pop cans and plastics from district parks currently being sent to the landfill because the bins' contents are too contaminated to be processed.
At a July 21 meeting, council voted in favour of Phase 3 of its recycling in parks program, which will add receptacles to Ambleside, expand the district's disposal compound on site and buy an electric utility vehicle to aid in the recycling effort.
Council approved $202,000 in capital funding for the expansion and an additional $53,500 in annual operating costs.
After a suggestion from Coun. Nora Gambioli, council agreed that money from new pay parking in the area would cover the costs to operate.
Council also directed staff to investigate and employ options to reduce the amount of contaminated recycling so less of it ends up in landfills.
According to a staff report, just four tonnes of material was recycled in 2023, when three-stream bins (landfill, containers, organics) were added to Millenium, John Lawson and Dundarave parks. That same year, 254 tonnes were sent from West Van parks to the landfill.
In 2024, Phase 2 of the program added two-stream bins to Horseshoe Bay and Whytecliff parks. That year, around 4.8 tonnes were recycled and 262 tonnes of park waste went to the landfill.
The low amount of waste being diverted from the landfill for recycling is due to high rates of contamination – visitors putting the wrong materials in the wrong bins, staff said.
Audits done between May 2022 and January 2025 show that nearly 40 per cent of container recycling in parks is contaminated with non-container waste, and that 18.5 per cent of organics were contaminated.
That’s far above the 10-per cent contamination limit used by many commercial recycling and organics processors, staff said.
Sending all that potential recycling to the dump undermines the program’s goal of waste reduction, despite efforts that include updating graphics near bins with clear visual guides, and public education over the past two summers, said Jill Lawlor, West Van’s senior manager of parks.
“This results in high expense per tonne diverted [to the landfill],” she said. “There’s also a risk to the district’s credibility and commitment to waste reduction.”
A 'missed opportunity' if recycling program isn't expanded, councillor says
Coun. Sharon Thompson said it seems silly to expand a program that isn’t effective.
“I really would like to see some improvement in our waste collection before we start investing this … whether it’s slogans or receptacles or volunteers helping along,” she said.
“I do think Metro [Vancouver] does a really good job on their sloganing, even the signage they put through the parts with dog leashes and things like that,” Thompson said. “So if we look to our fellow neighbours and partners, hopefully we can find some solutions there.”
Coun. Christine Cassidy said that if there aren’t the proper receptacles, people won’t be able to improve their recycling behaviour even if they wanted to.
Gambioli stressed that there’s funding for the new receptacles and vehicles available now, and that pay parking revenue could cover operating costs.
“This is a missed opportunity if we don’t do it now,” she said. “I think the expectations in the community are clear, and I think we should move ahead.”
Ultimately, council voted to move forward with the Ambleside Park expansion, while having staff look for more ways to reduce contaminated recycling in district parks.
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