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Background
The City of Abbotsford is part of Recycle BC’s Packaging and Paper Recycling Program. Recycle BC is a non-profit organization that oversees residential recycling across the province.
To stay in the program, the City must meet Recycle BC’s contamination standards, a maximum of 5.55% not accepted materials. Recycling contamination happens when residents put materials that are not recyclable in their curbside recycling bin, resulting in increased costs to process the truckload of contaminated recycling.
In 2022, Abbotsford’s recycling contamination rate was 8.29%, which meant the City was required to create a Contamination Remediation Plan to address the issue and avoid financial penalties. While the community has made some improvements in the last two years, more progress is needed. In 2025, Recycle BC began issuing financial penalties and the City began a third remediation plan. Meeting the goals in this plan is essential to avoid further fines, increased program costs to users and to maintain access to reliable recycling markets.
Currently, the City of Abbotsford’scontamination rate is 7.5% and we are not meeting Recycle BC’s target rate of 5.55% contamination. Recycle BC is fining the City for continuously exceeding the contamination rate, and we need resident’s help to meet their target.
We want to hear from you!
As a community we need to work together to reduce contamination and recycle right! This survey is an opportunity for us to learn about your concerns and the obstacles you have with the recycling program. Survey responses will be analyzed and reported to Council in 2026.
*All survey respondents will be entered to win a $100 Gift Card. Participants must be receiving curbside collection services to be eligible and must enter in their email address in order to be entered.
Background
The City of Abbotsford is part of Recycle BC’s Packaging and Paper Recycling Program. Recycle BC is a non-profit organization that oversees residential recycling across the province.
To stay in the program, the City must meet Recycle BC’s contamination standards, a maximum of 5.55% not accepted materials. Recycling contamination happens when residents put materials that are not recyclable in their curbside recycling bin, resulting in increased costs to process the truckload of contaminated recycling.
In 2022, Abbotsford’s recycling contamination rate was 8.29%, which meant the City was required to create a Contamination Remediation Plan to address the issue and avoid financial penalties. While the community has made some improvements in the last two years, more progress is needed. In 2025, Recycle BC began issuing financial penalties and the City began a third remediation plan. Meeting the goals in this plan is essential to avoid further fines, increased program costs to users and to maintain access to reliable recycling markets.
Currently, the City of Abbotsford’scontamination rate is 7.5% and we are not meeting Recycle BC’s target rate of 5.55% contamination. Recycle BC is fining the City for continuously exceeding the contamination rate, and we need resident’s help to meet their target.
We want to hear from you!
As a community we need to work together to reduce contamination and recycle right! This survey is an opportunity for us to learn about your concerns and the obstacles you have with the recycling program. Survey responses will be analyzed and reported to Council in 2026.
*All survey respondents will be entered to win a $100 Gift Card. Participants must be receiving curbside collection services to be eligible and must enter in their email address in order to be entered.
The City of Abbotsford is conducting a recycling survey for residents who receive curbside waste collection services. The City hopes to identify the top barriers residents face when sorting their waste, examine the effectiveness of the recycling program and fine-tune the program to lower the contamination rates in curbside recycling. Your input will help shape how we educate and support the community to make recycling as simple and accessible as possible.
