Mandatory Waste Source Separation

New waste diversion rules are coming for all commercial, institutional, industrial and multi-family buildings in 2025 in the Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) that will require organics and recyclable items to be separated from waste.

To help owners and tenants prepare for the new Mandatory Waste Source Separation (MWSS) bylaw, the RDN is hosting office hours and a webinar. Anyone with questions about the new MWSS bylaw requirements and how to prepare for them is invited to drop by during the following office hours:

• Qualicum Beach: Wednesday, Oct.16, 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Qualicum Beach Civic Centre, 747 Jones St.
• Nanoose Bay: Thursday, Oct. 17, 2:30 to 5 p.m. Nanoose Place Community Centre, 2925 Northwest Bay Rd.
• Parksville: Monday, Nov. 4, 2:30 to 5 p.m. Oceanside Place Arean, 830 West Island Highway
• Nanaimo: Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2:30 to 5 p.m., Arbutus Room, RDN, 6300 Hammond Bay Rd.
• Nanaimo: Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2:30 to 5 p.m., RDN Regional Landfill, 1105 Cedar Rd.

For those unable to attend in person, there will be a webinar on Wednesday, November 20, from 12 to 1 p.m. at: https://bit.ly/3SWD. Meeting ID: 673 4964 7039, Passcode: 152265 . The webinar will be recorded and posted on the Get Involved project webpage.

The MWSS bylaw applies to all properties across the RDN including in 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. Commercial, institutional, industrial and multi-family properties need to implement an organics and recycling diversion program with separate or partitioned containers for garbage, recycling and organics.

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.

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