Valemount Transfer Station to increase hours

By Abigail Popple, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, RMG

The Valemount Transfer Station will be open six days a week year-round starting this November, thanks to a decision to increase operating hours from the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George board. 

The new schedule has the transfer station open every day except Wednesday, and will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends, which amounts to an additional 13 hours per week.

Under the station’s previous operating schedule, it was closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from November through March. Holiday closures will remain the same under the new operating schedule. This means the transfer station will be closed on New Year’s Day, Family Day, Good Friday, Canada Day, BC Day, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Remembrance Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Additionally, it will operate from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Easter Monday, Victoria Day, Labour Day and Thanksgiving Day.

The decision to increase operating hours was made to help the station accommodate materials which will be hauled from the McBride Transfer Station, according to a statement from RDFFG Manager of Communications Hilary Erasmus. Under the district’s contract with RecycleBC, approved in March, material from the McBride station must be hauled to Valemount, where they will be sorted. Under the previous contract with Cascades Inc., the Valemount station was responsible for a smaller array of materials and did not collect material from neighbouring stations.

The increased operating hours can be paid for through the 2025 Solid Waste Management budget, according to a report from Environmental Services staff. Additional costs from the new operating hours will be outlined in the proposed 2026 budget, the report adds. The Regional District declined to respond to The Goat’s question asking for an estimate of the additional costs.