No-bid contracts for Gulf Islanders’ recycling services will reach well into seven figures over five years, according to Capital Regional District (CRD) officials, who said continuing that work with existing nonprofits is still the best bang for taxpayers’ bucks.
New agreements set to be approved by the CRD board will re-secure residential recycling services on several islands until the end of 2029 — and Pender, Galiano and Salt Spring Island’s totals will top a threshold-triggering half million dollars over the life of the new contracts.
The CRD’s commitment to the depot on Pender Island next year will total $143,220, according to the new contracts, $152,213 on Galiano Island and $411,578 on Salt Spring, a 2026 total of over $700,000 between the three islands — representing more than $3.3 million over the next five years.
Recycle BC provides the CRD with funding to contract depot collection services, in these cases with the Pender Island Recycling Society, the Galiano Island Recycling Resources Society and Island Community Services on Salt Spring.
Each depot’s contract includes an annual inflation adjustment of two per cent, according to contract documents, and requires they be open, staffed and receiving recycling a minimum of 10 hours per week.
The cost per tonne is substantially higher than in most of the CRD, said Russ Smith, senior manager of environmental research management for the district, due to economies of scale not available on the islands. The CRD has partnered with community groups to provide recycling for more than 30 years, according to staff; the most recent agreements expired at the end of 2024, and were extended as negotiations with each depot continued.
Given the specialized nature — and ferry-bound location — of the work, CRD staff concluded putting the service out to bid probably wouldn’t discover any new provider that could maintain the service any better — or less expensively.
Salt Spring Island CRD director Gary Holman told the Environmental Services Committee Wednesday, Nov. 19 that staff had indicated the long-standing arrangements were sound, and that he agreed there wasn’t likely to be any advantage to a competitive bidding process.
“Depots in rural areas are also the best way to deliver the service, versus a blue-box type of approach,” said Holman. “And the range of materials received by our depots is broader, for example flexible plastics and styrofoam.”
Total funding for the depots on Saturna Island and Mayne Island each fell below the $500,000 total contract amount threshold that required explicit CRD board approval, according to staff.