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Early returns promising at transfer station
By Stephanie Stevens
So far, so good.
District of Invermere (DOI) council got a positive update on the early stages of their pilot project at the transfer station in the Industrial Park at its regular meeting July 9.
After continued abuse of the transfer station, the project is running all summer, with reduced hours and days, seven fewer bins as well as staff on hand to help direct users to the right bins and keep the area clean. The hours are now 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday to Monday, closed Tuesday and Wednesday.
Only a little over a week into the project, the results are promising, with a more formal result to be presented to council in August.
Chief Administrative Officer Chris Prosser said he spent several hours at the transfer station himself to see how it was going
“We actually saw a higher volume of users than anticipated,” Prosser said, adding they did notice some trucks with construction waste “sort of slowing down but not stopping.”
Dumping of construction waste, which should be taken to the Columbia Valley Landfill, was one of the issues the DOI was seeing at the station.
“We have also added an area for people to put bottles and cans for donation to various non-profits,” said Prosser.
Scavenging in bins for returnable bottles was a further issue the DOI had been facing.
Mayor Al Miller said he was impressed with how clean the transfer station is now.
“And really good customer service,” Miller added. “The staff are helping with lids, educating people on what goes where, and that is really important.”
Prosser said with fewer bins and them being filled properly to capacity, the DOI has already seen a significant savings.
Transfer station employees Erik McLaughlin and Corey Olsen said the majority of people have been really happy with the change, both in the service as well as how much cleaner the area is. Both are happy not only to help, but also to answer any questions or concerns users have about the changes.
“It is service with a smile,” said Olsen.
Lead image: Transfer station employees Erik McLaughlin and Corey Olsen. Photos by Stephanie Stevens
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