Solid Waste Management Plan

2025 Solid Waste Management Plan

The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) is updating the Solid Waste Management Plan (SWMP) and requests your input on how solid waste is managed in the region over the next decade. The SWMP reflects a long-term vision for how the RDOS will manage solid waste. Once approved by the Ministry of Environment and Parks, the new plan will replace the previous 2012 SWMP.

The RDOS SWMP will focus on the five "R"s of the pollution prevention hierarchy as a tool to evaluate and prioritize future improvements: reduce, reuse, recycle (and compost), recover, and residuals management.

The RDOS is currently looking at the following issues as priority considerations:

  1. Optimize disposal efficiency across the Solid Waste system – conduct waste disposal analysis with financial, environmental, and social considerations in mind
  2. Seek ways to prevent waste in the first place – enhance waste prevention education and behaviour change programs, improve reuse, repair and share infrastructure and systems, and support a circular economy approach
  3. Increase reuse and diversion opportunities across sector for single family (SF), multi-family (MF) and industrial, commercial and institutional (ICI) through infrastructure, services, programs, and policies.
    • Organics
    • Recycling
    • Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste prevention/diversion

For further information, please visit the SWMP project page on the RDOS Regional Connections webpage at rdosregionalconnections.ca.

Advisory Committees

In order to ensure input from across the region, two committees have been formed. The Public Advisory Committee consists of volunteers from throughout the region to help provide input on what options the public might like to see and which ones are more suitable. The Technical Advisory Committee consists of local government staff and waste management industry reps that can help identify options and costs for presentation to the public at a later date.

Each committee will meet about five times throughout the planning process. Meeting agendas, minutes and reports can be found here. The committees’ insights, along with the information collected during surveys and open houses, will help shape the future of waste management programs for the region.

View the SWMP Public Advisory Committee terms of reference here. 

2012 Solid Waste Management Plan

The Solid Waste Management Plan was adopted by the RDOS Board on September 20th, 2012. The final report incorporates several recommendations brought forward during public consultation and endorsed by the three Advisory Committees.

2019 Amendment - Apex Mountain Waste Transfer Station

The Regional District has obtained approval to amend the 2012 Solid Waste Management Plan to allow for the construction of a Waste Transfer Station at Apex Mountain Resort.