What can I recycle? On the Recycling tab, you can type the name of a waste material into the Recycling Widget and PRRRDY will tell you how to recycle or dispose of it.
Zero waste is the long-term goal for waste management
in the Peace River region.
Solid Waste Regulation Bylaws
A bylaw for the purpose of establishing a service area, regulations and fees for the disposal of Solid Waste (garbage) and recyclable material within the Peace River Regional District.
For fees and charges for the Grain Bag Roller Rental, please refer to Finance-Fees and Charges Bylaw No. 2483, 2022
Regional Solid Waste Management Plan (RSWMP)
Regional Solid Waste Management Plan – Updated 2022
In 2019 the PRRD began working on updating the RSWMP, this process took two years and ended when the PRRD submitted the final version of the new plan on July 19, 2021 for Ministry approval. The Plan was approved by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy on October 5, 2022. The plan addresses three key areas:
For more information about the latest updates to the Regional Solid Waste Management plan and how we got here, visit the project page on Have Your Say.
Waste Composition Audit
The Peace River Regional District completed a year-long waste composition at all three regional landfills between Spring of 2017 and Winter 2018. Four Season Report.
Once we receive and process your completed application, we will send you a written notification of credit approval to the address provided. Our normal processing time for an application is one to two weeks.
If you are missing any of the items below when filling out the form, we may not be able to process your application. Please ensure that the application is completed in full:
Bags of twine and rolled and secured grain bags are now collected at the following landfills and transfer stations:
To access the grain bag roller, please email the Environmental Services Department or call 250-784-3200.
The Peace River Regional District (PRRD) provides free and accessible recycling and composting services for residents. Our depot system, in partnership with Recycle-It and Recycle BC, accepts a wide variety of materials like paper, packaging, containers, cardboard, non-deposit glass, foam and flexible plastics.
We also offer free yard and garden waste composting at the Bessborough Landfill (excluding food waste and invasive plants) through a three-year pilot program.
Recycle BC now accepts more single-use and packaging-like items for recycling at home or depots. Please rinse containers and soft plastics before recycling. Explore our resources to learn how you can participate!
The PRRD offers depot recycling through Recycle-It Resource Recovery and Recycle BC to provide services to the entire region. The depots allow residents to drop off a variety of materials for free, and most depots accept all our materials including paper, packaging, cardboard boxes, plastic containers, metal containers, cartons and paper cups, non-deposit glass bottles and jars, foam packaging, and flexible plastics.
Flexible plastics, foam packaging (e.g. Styrofoam) and non-deposit glass (in communities without separated curbside glass collection) can only be returned to a depot for recycling.
To learn more about what is accepted and where, review the Depot Sorting Guide.
Find a Recycle BC depot
Find a Recycle-It Resource Recovery depot
Single-use and packaging-like products can be recycled from home or the depot through RecycleBC’s residential packaging and paper recycling program.
Please review the Single-use and Packaging Guide to learn more about what can be recycled and where. Please continue to rinse your containers and soft plastics before recycling.
All material from the PRRD is shipped out via backhaul, filling up trucks that would be heading south empty otherwise. Click through the slideshow below to learn more!
Information provided by Recycle-It Resource Recovery based on materials they process on behalf of the PRRD.
The PRRD is piloting a 3-year composting program at the Bessborough Landfill (2025-2027) to reduce the approximately 30 percent of organic waste currently entering our landfills. This initiative will compost yard and garden waste using a windrowing method, supporting long-term waste management. The program’s success will be evaluated in 2027 for potential full implementation.
Acceptance Dates: May 15 – October 31 annually.
Tipping Fees: FREE for sorted and accepted materials.
Accepted Materials: Grass clippings, hedge trimmings, leaves and pruning’s (up to 5cm diameter).
Not Accepted: Food waste, invasive plants.
Delivery: Materials must be loose upon arrival at the designated area. Bags used for transport must be emptied.
The Peace River Regional District Seasonal Cleanup is a program designed to help you responsibly dispose of your sorted waste. During these events, we waive tipping fees at landfills and waste transfer stations, making it more convenient for you to clean up your property and reduce wildfire risks by removing waste. It is an easy way for you to tidy up your spaces, manage waste and contribute to a better community.
Spring Cleanup
June 2 to June 15, 2025
Fall Cleanup
October 6 to October 19, 2025
If you have any of the following, you can bring them to a landfill or tier 1 waste transfer station:
The Peace River Regional District offers share sheds at all regional landfills and transfer stations, which operate on a leave-and-take concept where residents can leave unwanted items that are in good condition to be used by someone else.
The items left in the share sheds should be unsoiled and in good working order, with the expectation that residents accessing the facilities will leave the premises as they found it or better.
All items must be submitted to the waste station attendant for approval before they are accepted. Share sheds are on a self-serve model but are regularly monitored by waste station attendants.
Share sheds are not open 24/7; sheds are unlocked according to station operating hours.
Share Shed, North Peace Regional landfill
Share Shed, Chetwynd landfill
(click titles to expand)
All items must be clean, and in good working order
A stewardship program requires manufacturers of certain consumer products to take financial and environmental responsibility for the end of life management of certain products, including the below items:
For other items not listed, check out the Recycling Council of BC.
There are numerous provincial stewardship programs that have been developed to take back a variety of items to be recycled, reused, and disposed of the green way!
Managing your waste in the Peace River Regional District is simple with our guidelines on tipping fees and annual solid waste coupons. Whether you are disposing of residential waste, recycling materials or taking advantage of free cleanup coupons, it is important to know how we calculate our fees and where you can pay. Proper sorting and recycling not only saves you money, it also helps reduce the burden on local landfills. Learn about payment methods, coupon usage and tips for minimizing your waste disposal costs. If you are a business owner, find out how to set up a commercial landfill account for streamlined waste management.
Landfills and waste transfer stations charge fees for solid waste, recycling and other materials based on weight, volume or bag counts, depending on the location. You can pay by cash, debit, Mastercard, and Visa at the site that you are visiting.
The more recyclable or compostable materials you remove from your waste before visiting the landfill will save you money on disposal fees. When you divert waste away from the landfill into streams that can convert it into repurposed or recycled materials, it eases the burden on landfills and extends their use. The cost will be much higher for unsorted or mixed waste. Learn more with our money-saving waste diversion tips:
As a resident of the Peace River Regional District, your household is entitled to an annual solid waste coupon. This coupon, valid from May 1 to April 30 of the following year, contains twelve punches, each with a value of $3.75. This gives you a total credit of $45 to use towards the disposal of sorted residential waste.
To utilize your coupon, simply present it at any of the PRRD’s landfills or transfer stations. Please note that unused coupons from the previous year are not automatically reissued.
If you haven’t received your solid waste coupon by mid-May, please contact the PRRD by calling 250-784-3200 or email prrd.dc@prrd.bc.ca.
We charge fees by the tonne unless noted. Weight-based fees apply to the following landfills and waste transfer stations with scales:
Regular waste includes common household and commercial waste that does not pose significant environmental or health risks.
| Waste Type | Residential Fees ($/tonne) | Commercial Fees ($/tonne) |
| Minimum fee | $3.75 | $4.00 |
| Five garbage bags or less | $0.80 per bag | $1.00 per bag |
| Sorted household and commercial | $55.00 | $60.00 |
| Metal | $55.00 | $60.00 |
| Wood | $55.00 | $60.00 |
| Domestic animal carcasses | $55.00 | $60.00 |
| Tires that are light duty with no rims | $55.00 | $60.00 |
| Unsorted regular waste | $110.00 | $200.00 |
| All other regular waste | $55.00 | $60.00 |
Please ask the attendant for additional information and required receipts.
We round all cash transactions to the nearest $0.05.
Controlled waste needs special handling because of its potential to cause harm if not managed properly. While not hazardous, it still needs careful disposal.
| Waste Type | Residential Fees ($/tonne) | Commercial Fees ($/tonne) |
| Minimum fee | $10.00 | $11.00 |
| Household appliances | $55.00 | $60.00 |
| Concrete less than 15cm piece size, no soil or gravel | $55.00 | $60.00 |
| Clean uncrushed steel and plastic drums with lids removed | $55.00 +$3.50 per drum |
$60.00 +$3.50 per drum |
| Medium-duty tires with no rims | $55.00 | $60.00 |
| Industrial-duty tires with no rims | $55.00 | $60.00 |
| Mixed demolition, land clearing and construction | $110.00 | $200.00 |
| Stripped vehicles | $110.00 | $120.00 |
| Unstripped vehicles | $110.00 +$170.00 per vehicle |
$120.00 |
| Clean soil | $5.00 | No charge |
| Contaminated soil meeting the Industrial Land Use Standard under the Contaminated Sites Regulation with required documentation | $5.00 | $5.25 |
| Concrete rubble less than 15cm piece size | No charge | No charge |
| Unsorted controlled waste | $110.00 | $200.00 |
| All other controlled waste | $110.00 | $120.00 |
Restricted waste poses risks to health or the environment and are heavily regulated. You must dispose of them at specific facilities. The Peace River Regional District does not accept industrial waste from oil and gas operations at solid waste facilities.
| Waste Type | Residential Fees ($/tonne) | Commercial Fees ($/tonne) |
| Minimum fee | $22.00 | $24.00 |
| Specified risk material as identified by CFIA, permit required | $125.00 | $135.00 |
| Wildlife and livestock animal carcasses | $125.00 | $135.00 |
| Loads containing less than 10% old corrugated cardboard | $250.00 | $450.00 |
| Lead acid batteries | $55.00 | $60.00 |
| Asbestos | $150.00 | $163.00 |
| Unsorted restricted waste | $150.00 | $272.00 |
| All other restricted waste | $150.00 | $163.00 |
Volume-based fees apply to the following landfills and waste transfer stations without scales:
| Waste Type | Fees |
| 8 bags or less | $0.80 per bag |
| More than 8 bags | $6.50/m3 |
| Passenger car with bagged and non-bagged waste | $5.00 |
| Station wagons, mini-vans and SUVs with bagged and non-bagged waste | $7.00 |
| Vans, mid- and full-size pick-ups (i.e. short box) and trailers with capacity of 1.5 m3 or less | $9.50 |
| Vans, mid- and full-size pick-ups (i.e. short box) and trailers with capacity of 1.5 m3 or less with stakesides or overloaded | $14.50 |
| Full-size pick-ups (i.e. long box) and trailers with capacity greater than 1.5 m3 | $12.00 |
| Full-size pick-ups (i.e. long box) and trailers with capacity greater than 1.5 m3 with stakesides or overloaded | $17.00 |
| Loads containing less than 10% old corrugated cardboard | $22.00/m3 |
Please note that minimum fees will apply.
| Waste Type | Fees |
| Wood including yard trimmings, lumber and clean wood from residential demolition | $6.50/m3 |
| Metal including barbeques, washing machines, bicycles and more | $10.00/m3 |
| Household appliances that have ozone depleting substances | $10.00 per appliance |
| Bulky waste like furniture, mattresses, carpets and more | $6.50/m3 |
| Demolition, land clearing and construction waste | $28.00/m3 |
| Car, LT and SUV tires with no rim | $7.00 per tire |
| Medium duty tires with no rim | $11.00 per tire |
| Unsorted Regular Waste | $13.00/m3 |
Click question to expand
Impacted soils are accepted at the following landfill
Landfills operate under the authority of a Waste Management Permit that is issued by the Ministry of Environment (MOE). In 2009, the MOE enacted the Landfill Gas Management Regulation to support the local government’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) by at least 33% below the current levels by 2020. Within this Regulation, province-wide criteria were established for landfill gas capture from municipal solid waste landfills. Under this Regulation, the PRRD was required to conduct a gas generation assessment of the North Peace Regional Landfill to determine if a gas management facility needed to be installed at the site. The PRRD conducted the assessment; it was revealed that the landfill exceeds the 1000 tonnes/year regulatory threshold for methane production, requiring the installation of a gas management system by the year 2012.In December 2014, the LFG System at the North Peace Regional Landfill was commissioned and began operating in March of 2015. This project took several years to complete and the cost was offset by funding opportunities through the Federal Gas Tax Fund. The initial LFG system consisted of several horizontal wells that were buried within the older waste.
In 2018, the LFG system was expanded in “fresher” waste within Phase 2 of the landfill, where 7 vertical wells were installed and tied into the existing system.
The LFG system will be expanded again with Phase 2 where more vertical wells will be installed within the waste.
The following chart shows what each transfer stations offer:
| Tier 1 | Tier 2 |
| Share Shed | |
| Household Garbage | |
| Recycling – Recycle BC Program of Printed Paper and Packaging | |
| Bulky Waste | |
| Metal | |
| Wood Waste | |
| Tires | |
| Plaint Plus (Only at Prespatou Transfer Station) | |
| Electronics Recycling (Pilot at Wonowon, Prespatou, and Tomslake Transfer Stations. | |
The simple fact is that there is no “good time” for putting out these bins. The process for getting bids for available contractors to provide the best price take time and has to be planned well in advance. Setting the bins out in May and October long weekends offers consistency in that people can plan their bigger clean-up projects around these times more easily.
For 2020 the PRRD will be piloting the 2020 Spring Clean-Up later in the spring and for the 2020 Fall Clean-Up the bins will arrive earlier in October. For 2020 Spring Clean-Up will occur the first two weeks of June – June 1 to June 14, 2020. For the Fall 2020 Clean-Up will occur the first two weeks of October – October 5 to October 18, 2020.
Depending where you recycle there are different items and materials that can be recycled. This is because there are two different recycling programs operated in the RD. At the Rural Transfer Stations, household printed paper and packaging material are collected, processed, and marketed by Recycle BC for recycling. If you recycle in town (curbside or depot) or use one of the unattended recycling depots (Mile 54, No Frills, etc.) then that material is collected, processed, and marketed by the Regional District Recycling Contractor. The following images provides an example:
Don’t see your question? Contact environmental services
