Glenmore Landfill close to reopening after fire damage

The Glenmore Landfill in Kelowna will reopen to public waste management on Monday, Aug. 28, which will be 10 days after it was in flames.

The landfill was evacuated on Friday, August 18 as the Clifton/McKinley fire quickly moved south into Kelowna. Portions of the landfill burned, but its critical infrastructure has been mostly unaffected. All landfill buildings are operational and the landfill gas management system was the only infrastructure that saw considerable damage.

“It could’ve been much worse,” Scott Hoekstra, landfill & compost operations manager, said. “We’ve been able to bounce back quite quickly. Staff and contractors are making progress on the many necessary repairs. We’ve had staff on site 24 hours a day working with fire-response personnel since the evacuation and we’re ahead of where I thought we would be at this point.”

The public will be able to access to the landfill’s waste transfer station and recycling depot on Monday, but initially only household waste will be accepted for disposal. Drywall, concrete, clean wood, branches, yard waste and other waste categories will be accepted once the site returns to full operation. Wholesale compost sales will also resume on Monday.

Curbside garbage and recycling collection continues to be suspended in evacuation alert zones. Collection in those areas will resume as scheduled once alerts have been lifted. Collection of yard waste is still suspended across the Central Okanagan region until further notice. Residents are asked to store yard waste until it can safely be accepted at the landfill. Residents can download RDCO’s Recycle coach app for updates on waste collection.

A waste-management response plan is in development at Central Okanagan Emergency Operations and details will be announced soon. The plan will outline disposal options for wildfire-related waste, including food-loaded fridges and freezers for some, and fire-damaged fences, structures and trees. Residents are asked to store this waste until further direction is provided.

“We’re still recovering from the fire so residents may notice landfill operations are slower than usual,” Hoekstra said. “We appreciate everyone’s patience and ask those who can put off their next trip to the landfill to consider doing so.”

As part of a phased approach to reopening, only large, packer truck traffic is permitted at the Glenmore Landfill today. On Saturday and Sunday, only packer trucks and roll-off bins of construction and demolition debris will be permitted. Many commercial haulers have waste stored at facilities and on trucks, and this time will allow them to clear out that backlog.

The City of Kelowna is grateful for the support of the Regional District of North Okanagan, Regional District Okanagan-Similkameen, and the District of Summerland for opening their landfills to wastes from the Central Okanagan during this challenging time.

Visit kelowna.ca/landfill for information about the Glenmore Landfill, visit rdco.com for waste collection information, and find updates on local wildfire response at cordemergency.ca.