Mandatory Waste Source Separation

Property owners and managers of commercial, industrial and multi-family buildings will have to organize a new collection system that includes organics and recycling diversion. The first step? Reach out to your waste hauler to discuss a plan that could work for you.

Need options for waste haulers providing service in the Regional District of Nanaimo? Click here for a contact list of local waste haulers.

*If you are a waste hauler who would like to be included on this list, please email sbajwa@rdn.bc.ca

The Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) is introducing a new waste diversion bylaw for all commercial, institutional, industrial and multi-family buildings throughout the region in January 2025.

The Mandatory Waste Source Separation (MWSS) bylaw will require all waste generators to have separate or partitioned containers to sort garbage, recycling and organics. While the bylaw does not come into effect until early 2025, work is starting now to help people prepare for this change.

“The Mandatory Waste Source Separation bylaw is an important next step for the Regional District of Nanaimo’s goal of achieving 90 per cent waste diversion from the landfill,” said Ben Geselbracht, RDN Director and Solid Waste Select Committee Chair. “Extending the three-stream waste diversion program to all properties in the RDN will help bridge the gap between the current 67 per cent diversion rate and our goal.”

The MWSS bylaw, like the program already in place for single-family residences, will apply to all properties across the RDN which includes Electoral Areas A, B, C, E, F, G and H, the City of Nanaimo, District of Lantzville, City of Parksville and Town of Qualicum Beach.

These properties will need to implement an organics and recycling diversion program. It will be the responsibility of property owners and managers to coordinate the collection and proper management of separated waste with their waste collection service provider.

Properties impacted by the Waste Source Separation bylaw include:

• Island Health facilities/medical clinics
• School districts and Vancouver Island University
• Municipal facilities
• Hotels, motels and other similar accommodations
• Restaurants and other food service businesses
• Office buildings
• Condominiums and apartments

Community engagement, including public meetings, presentations and informational mailouts, is planned for the fall. For more information and to submit questions to the project team, visit getinvolved.rdn.ca/waste-separation. Updates will be posted as available.

Introducing a successful waste separation program will take some planning, and the RDN is committed to providing information that can help. A series of guides have been created for multi-family housing, offices, hotels and restaurants, and are available here.

They include great info including:

• Step-by-step guide for setting up a waste diversion system
• Information about what is accepted in recycling and organics programs
• Suggestions of where to buy waste sorting stations
• And more!

Check them out here or in our resources section:

• Waste Separation Guide: Multi-Family
• Waste Separation Guide: Hotels
• Waste Separation Guide: Offices & Commerical Buildings
• Waste Separation Guide: Restaurants