The Regional District of Fraser-Fort George (RDFFG) is opening up one of its Prince George transfer stations to its seven-day-a-week summer schedule.
The Quinn Street Recycling Depot and Transfer Station is one of five sites within the RDFFG’s jurisdiction switching to summer hours tomorrow (May 1) to keep up with its demand and ‘ease some of the congestion’ during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a normal situation, the local site would’ve switched on April 1, but to account for social and physical-distancing measures by Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, it was delayed a month and maintained its winter Thursday-to-Monday timetable.
“Like any essential business or service, we have had to adapt our way of operating during this challenging time,” said RDFFG Waste Diversion Program Manager Laura Zapotichny in a news release.
“If shoppers understand that the line ups and reduced capacity within grocery stores protect everyone’s safety during this pandemic, they should expect that these same conditions are enforced at our landfills and transfer stations.”
Other Prince George facilities, like the Foothills Boulevard Landfill, have been open under normal operating hours, but also under strict public health guidelines.
If you plan on visiting an RDFFG facility for waste disposal, you’re asked to adhere to the following measures:
- Social and physical distancing measures are mandatory
- For visitor and staff safety, distancing measures are in place to ensure that individuals stay at least the recommended two metres or six feet away from each other
- Avoid unnecessary trips
- Residents are asked to maximize their use of available curbside waste and recycling collection services before visiting a landfill or transfer station
- If something requires immediate disposal, consider hanging onto items like old fridges, tires or yard waste
- Expect long lineups, especially on the weekends
- With social distancing measures in place, the ability to manage a large volume of traffic at all sites has been significantly reduced
- Plan trips accordingly, allow enough time for line-ups and stay patient
The other four RDFFG sites switching to summer schedules are transfer stations in Bear Lake, Valemount, McBride and Mackenzie.
More information is available on the Regional District’s website.
As of this publication, there are 46 test-positive COVID-19 cases in Northern Health, 41 of which have fully recovered.
