Kelowna Recycling Guide

Recycling in Kelowna changed in 2026, making it easier than ever to keep recyclables out of the landfill. Alongside the familiar blue-lidded cart, households now have separate boxes for flexible plastics and glass collected right at the curb.

Kelowna’s waste and recycling services are coordinated with the Regional District of Central Okanagan (RDCO) and Recycle BC. This guide explains how curbside recycling works, what goes in each cart and box, collection schedules, yard waste rules, recycling depots, Glenmore Landfill, household hazardous waste, tips for apartments and businesses, and how to avoid common sorting mistakes.

Table of Contents

How Recycling Works in Kelowna

The RDCO and member municipalities provide curbside recycling collection for single family dwellings every other week. Garbage is collected separately, and the RDCO and member municipalities provide curbside cart collection for garbage from single family dwellings on a weekly basis.

Service	Container	Frequency
Paper and containers	Blue-lidded cart	Every other week
Flexible plastics	Pink box	With recycling collection
Non-deposit glass	Grey box	With recycling collection
Garbage	Black-lidded cart	Weekly
Yard and garden waste	Green-lidded cart	Bi-weekly in season

What’s New in 2026: Pink and Grey Boxes

The biggest recent change is curbside collection of materials that used to require a depot trip. Starting May 1, 2026, curbside collection will also include flexible plastics (in separate pink boxes) and non-deposit glass (in separate gray boxes).

The RDCO noted that pink and grey boxes will be delivered to households before May 1, 2026, with instructions on how to use them. Best of all, residents will see no increase in cost with the addition of flexible plastics and glass curbside collection.

Pink Box: Flexible Plastics

The pink box is for soft plastics such as bags, wraps and pouches. West Kelowna’s guidance explains that the pink box is for flexible plastics; bundle to prevent fly-aways.

Grey Box: Glass

The grey box is for glass bottles and jars without deposits. The grey box is for non-deposit glass bottles and jars, while deposit beverage containers should go to the depot.

Recycled glass is put to good use. Most collected glass stays in BC and is processed into new bottles and jars, sandblast material and construction aggregate.

The Blue-Lidded Cart

The blue-lidded cart remains the main recycling container. The blue-lidded cart is for cardboard, paper, plastic containers and other accepted materials.

What Goes In

Cardboard and boxboard
Newspapers, flyers, magazines and mixed paper
Plastic containers, tubs and lids
Metal cans and aluminium containers
Paper cartons for milk, juice and soup
Accepted single-use items listed in the Recycle BC guide

During the holidays, the RDCO reminds residents to recycle wrapping paper (except foil gift wrap), paper gift bags, flattened boxes and paper cartons in your recycling cart.

Preparation Rules

Mix all recyclables and leave materials loose in the cart.
Recyclable items should be loose in your cart – do not bag materials.
Place only acceptable materials in your blue cart (i.e. no soft plastics, glass, electronic or hazardous waste).
All materials must fit within the carts completely with lids closed.
Do not pack materials into the cart: it will not empty when dumped.

Collection Time

Set everything out early. The 2026 guide instructs residents to place blue-lidded cart (paper and containers), pink box (flexible plastics) and grey box (glass) at the curb by 7 a.m. on collection day.

What Stays Out of Your Recycling Cart

Item	Where It Goes
Flexible plastics	Pink box or depot
Non-deposit glass	Grey box or depot
Foam packaging	Recycling depot
Deposit beverage containers	Bottle depot for refund
Electronics and small appliances	Recycling depot
Light bulbs and fixtures	Recycling depot
Paint, chemicals, motor oil	Hazardous waste depot
Books	RDCO book recycling options

Books need special handling. The RDCO book recycling program helps Central Okanagan residents recycle their old books, with the goal to prevent books from getting tossed into curbside recycling carts or going to the landfill.

Garbage Rules

The garbage cart is for true waste only. RDCO garbage rules list items that must stay out, including:

No light bulbs, tubes or light fixtures (take to a recycling depot)
No beverage containers (take to a recycling depot)
No styrofoam or glass jars (take to a recycling depot)
No flexible plastics (take to a recycling depot)
No liquids
No hot ashes
No construction or renovation waste (e.g. wood, drywall, metal, concrete, bricks – consult the Glenmore Landfill)

Kelowna’s calendar also notes no hazardous materials (motor oil, paint, chemicals, pesticides) and no recyclables, incl. cardboard or paper in garbage carts.

Extra Garbage

If you have more waste than fits in your cart, haul extra garbage to the Glenmore Landfill or Asquith Road Transfer Station.

Yard and Garden Waste

The green-lidded cart handles yard waste for much of the year. Kelowna offers bi-weekly curbside collection of yard and garden waste, March 1st to November 30th. Put all yard waste loosely into cart.

Yard Waste Rules

NO plastic bags, no paper bags, no biodegradable bags, no containers.
NO agricultural or commercial waste.
NO landscape fabric or plastic edging.
NO plastic flower pots (recycle in blue lid cart).
Yard waste must fit in cart with lid closed.

There is a winter break. In recent schedules, yard waste collection ends on December 31, 2025, and resumes in March 2026, so check the current calendar for exact dates.

Year-Round Drop-Off

Yard waste can be dropped off all year at the Westside Residential Waste Disposal Centre and Glenmore Landfill. Residents should empty yard waste out of plastic, biodegradable or brown paper bags when dropping off.

Glenmore Landfill and Recycling Depot

Glenmore Landfill is the region’s main disposal site. All waste generated in the Central Okanagan is transported to the Glenmore Landfill. Learning how to dispose of waste in a responsible way will help extend the life of our only local landfill.

Key Details

Address: Glenmore Landfill Recycling Depot, 2710 John Hindle Dr, Kelowna.
Hours: Open Monday to Sunday, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.
Holiday closures: Closed December 25, 26 and January 1.
Fees: Tipping fees apply for garbage and many materials.

Christmas Tree Drop-Off

After the holidays, Glenmore Landfill accepts 3 trees per vehicle for free – load must be tarped.

Recycling Depots in Kelowna

Depots accept materials that do not belong in curbside carts, such as foam, electronics and deposit containers.

Depot	Address
Glenmore Landfill Recycling Depot	John Hindle Drive, Kelowna
Columbia Bottle Depot – Central	1936 Kent Road, Kelowna
Columbia Bottle Depot – Rutland	680 Dease Road, Kelowna
Columbia Bottle Depot – St. Paul	St. Paul Street, Kelowna
Westside Residential Waste and Recycling Centre	2640 Asquith Rd, West Kelowna
Kelowna Recycling (Battery Doctors)	1972 Windsor Rd, Kelowna (hazardous waste)

Many depots handle more than bottles. RDCO notes that several depots also accept electronics, small appliances, power tools, light bulbs and fixtures for recycling.

Depot Limits

For Recycle BC materials at depots, the RDCO guide notes that due to space limitations, a maximum of one grocery bag of each material is suggested per visit.

Household Hazardous Waste

Hazardous materials need safe disposal. Kelowna Recycling (aka Battery Doctors) is our region’s year-round depot for HHW. Fees may apply.

Note that this location is specialised: it accepts no cardboard, paper, plastic, Styrofoam or glass at this location only.

The RDCO also runs collection events. For example, it held a Traders Cove Transfer Station HHW collection event on Saturday, June 13, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Other Special Items

Tires: Please bring used tires to local tire shops, the Glenmore Landfill or the Westside Residential Disposal & Recycling Centre.
Sharps: Interior Health accepts used sharps at many public health and primary care locations.

Wildlife and Waste in the Okanagan

Bears and other wildlife are common in the Central Okanagan. The RDCO and WildSafeBC are urging residents to reduce wildlife conflicts by managing attractants like garbage, compost, and food waste around their homes.

Keep carts in a garage or shed until collection day.
Rinse containers before recycling to reduce odours.
Put carts out on the morning of collection, not the night before.

Tips for Apartment and Condo Residents

Multi-family buildings may not have the same curbside service as single-family homes. The RDCO offers resources to help, and residents can access the toolkit at www.rdco.com/multifamily.

The toolkit suggests ideas such as starting a Community Depot Recycling “Car Pool” or hosting a Recycling Information party. Strata councils can also add clearly labelled bins for glass, flexible plastics and organics.

Tips for Businesses

Businesses usually arrange private waste and recycling services. To manage costs:

Separate cardboard, which is often the largest commercial recyclable.
Recycle electronics, batteries and lighting through depots.
Use licensed haulers for construction and renovation waste.
Train staff to keep recyclables out of garbage bins.

Good waste practices can reduce hauling and tipping fees and support sustainability goals.

Tools and Contacts

Recycle Coach App: RDCO encourages residents to download the free Recycle Coach App for schedules and sorting help.
Regional Waste Reduction Office: Contact wastereduction@rdco.com or call 250-469-6250.
Online information: Visit rdco.com/wastereduction for depot locations and sorting guidance.

Common Sorting Mistakes

Bagging recyclables in the blue-lidded cart
Putting glass or soft plastics in the blue cart instead of the grey and pink boxes
Placing foam packaging in curbside containers
Adding deposit containers instead of returning them for refunds
Overfilling carts so lids do not close
Putting yard waste in plastic or paper bags

Final Thoughts

Kelowna’s recycling system now makes curbside recycling easier than ever. The blue-lidded cart takes paper and containers, the new pink box takes flexible plastics, and the new grey box takes non-deposit glass, all collected every other week at no extra cost.

Foam, electronics, deposit containers and hazardous waste still need a trip to a depot, and Glenmore Landfill handles extra garbage and many specialty materials. Sorting carefully helps extend the life of the region’s only landfill and keeps valuable materials in use.