The City of Campbell River accepts food and yard waste year round as part of the weekly curbside collection program. This program is delivered through our contractor, Emterra Environmental, and is funded by an annual collection service fee.
The curbside organics collection program allows residents to divert food and yard waste from the landfill. By composting organic materials such as food and yard waste, we can extend the lifespan of the regional landfill while creating high-quality, nutrient-rich fertilizer.
Preparing for Collection
There are several ways to package your organic waste.
Green kitchen bins are supplied for daily indoor disposal, these are not intended for curbside collection. Acceptable liners for your daily kitchen bin include shredded paper, paper bags (without plastic liner), and newspaper. Liners are not required. Many bags are advertised as being suitable for organic materials, but only unlined paper bags are truly compostable and accepted. All plastic/compostable plastic bags will be left at the curb.
Do not put organics out for collection in your green kitchen bins or paper yard waste bags. Leaving organics in unsecure collection containers will increase human-wildlife conflicts. For more information on how to limit pest and wildlife contact, read below!
For your exterior bins, use a strong lidded container made of plastic, rubber or galvanized steel. Clearly label your Organic Waste container to distinguish organics from regular garbage.
Branches and pruning must be tied or bagged in secure bundles measuring maximum 90 cm (36 in) long and 60 cm (24 in) wide. Individual branches must not exceed 7.6 cm (3 in) in diameter. Tie bundles with twine or other compostable string.
Yard waste, like lawn clippings and leaves that does not contain food waste, may continue to be placed in paper yard waste bags.
Curbside Collection Guidelines
You can find collection schedules by using the ReCollect tool on the Collection Schedules page, or by downloading the Campbell River Recycles app.
For curbside collection, your organic materials should be placed out by the curb as close to 7:30 a.m. as possible, but no earlier than midnight, on your scheduled collection day. Following collection, please bring garbage containers back to your property by 8 p.m. These rules help reduce the risk of attracting bears and other wildlife.
Collection Limits
There is a 360-litre limit, per household, per week. As food and yard waste can be quite heavy, here are our container size and weight limits:
- Cans should be maximum 20 kg (44 lbs).
- Each container should not exceed 121 litres in size.
- Provided green bins are for daily indoor disposal and are not to be used for curbside collection.
If you have more than 360 litres of organics waste, you can purchase an organic collection tag for additional waste. Organic collection tags are $4 and can be purchased at City Hall, the Sportsplex or the Community Centre.
Alternatively, you can drop off all yard waste at the landfill. Fees can be found at the Comox Strathcona Waste Management website.
Accepted and Unaccepted Materials
Missed Pickups
If your pickup was missed, you can contact Emterra at 250-286-0211 to arrange a new pickup. In the meantime, bring your waste bins back to your property by 8 p.m., as usual, to reduce the risk of attracting bears and other wildlife. Yard waste bags or containers with no food waste can remain at the curbside.