The Campbell Mountain Landfill near Penticton has been busy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We have experienced abnormally high volumes of traffic at the landfill,” said Liisa Bloomfield, manager of engineering at the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen, “In order to reduce risks to the public and staff, we have been advertising and asking residents to use the curbside programs and avoid the landfill where possible.”
READ ALSO: Stay away from landfills, Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen urges
READ ALSO: Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen asks residents not to use landfills
Staff at the landfill have created a system to bypass the main scale for yard waste, in order to avoid lineups and to promote social distancing.
In addition, the landfill has improved internal roads, added offsite signs and assigned spotters to direct traffic.
Increased activity at the landfill has been a concern at the regional district.
In late March, Karla Kozakevich, chair of the regional district board, said the landfill had been especially busy, with lineups blocking traffic.
“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, residents are asked to use curbside collection until further notice,” she said at the time.
READ ALSO: Summerland Landfill introduces regulations introduced to slow spread of COVID-19
Landfill staff have earlier raised concerns about the number of people using the landfill and not maintaining the physical distancing directive to keep two metres apart.
“Health officials are asking people not to leave their homes unless necessary,” Kozakevich said. “Please do your part to keep your family and our staff safe.”
To report a typo, email:news@summerlandreview.com.
news@summerlandreview.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
