Based on coverage from Salmon Arm Observer and Castanet.
Mattresses are bulky, messy to handle, and suddenly a big political sore spot in the Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD).
The decision to approve the mattress recycling contract comes amid ongoing tensions regarding waste management in the region, as previously reported in CSRD's legal action against the Spa Hills compost facility. Directors are increasingly vocal about the need for provincial support in addressing these environmental challenges.
At an April 16 board meeting in Salmon Arm, directors approved a new contract with Shuswap Enviro Solutions to recycle mattresses and children’s car seats at CSRD disposal facilities. The vote was unanimous, but the discussion was prickly, mainly because directors say the province still is not making mattress makers and sellers pay their share.
Columbia Shuswap approves mattress recycling deal
CSRD staff recommended awarding the work to Shuswap Enviro Solutions, a mattress recycling operation based in Lumby. The agreement is a three-year term with an option to renew for two more years, running from April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2031. The estimated total five-year cost is about $1.3 million, plus applicable taxes.
The same meeting also saw directors more comfortably approve a separate contract for commercial recycling hauling services at the Salmon Arm landfill. That contract, awarded to SCV Waste Solutions, is estimated at $500,000 plus applicable taxes, for a three-year term from April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2031, with an option to renew for two additional years.
Why B.C.’s EPR program matters here
The frustration centres on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), the system B.C. uses to fund recycling for items such as tires, batteries, beverages and electronics. With EPR, the cost is built into the purchase price, so the businesses that sell products help pay to manage them at end of life.
CSRD directors say mattresses should be handled the same way. According to reporting from the board meeting, the Ministry of Environment and Parks had previously indicated mattresses would be added to EPR in 2025, then reversed course, citing affordability concerns for consumers.
CSRD chair Natalya Melnychuk raised the issue directly with the province in a Sept. 18 letter to Environment and Parks Minister Tamara Davidson, warning that leaving mattresses out of the regulation would have “profound consequences” for CSRD budgets and recycling programs. In that letter, Melnychuk also pointed to consultation feedback that she said showed support from 26 local governments, three First Nations, and a range of industry and public respondents.
CSRD fees versus real recycling costs
Right now, CSRD residents pay $15 per mattress or car seat to drop them off at regional landfills or transfer stations. The district charges commercial rates as well, for businesses like hotels or Airbnbs bringing in larger loads.
But the $15 fee does not cover the full cost. General manager Ben Van Nostrand told the board the actual cost to recycle a mattress is around $30 to $35. Golden Mayor Ron Oszust added that the CSRD fee is about recovering roughly 50 percent of processing costs, not fully paying the bill.
That pricing balance is touchy for a reason: directors and staff said if fees climb too high, illegal dumping becomes more tempting.
A local Interior solution in Lumby
Van Nostrand framed the Shuswap Enviro Solutions partnership as a success story for the Interior. He said the CSRD program is unusual in B.C. because mattresses are dismantled into separate commodities and shipped to end markets, rather than dismantled on site with portions still going into the landfill.
The region has been trying to keep mattresses out of the landfill stream for years. A diversion effort began in 2014, using an on-site contractor to dismantle mattresses and divert wood and metal, while landfilling foam and outer coverings. Later, as transportation costs rose, CSRD stopped shipping mattresses to the Coast and began stockpiling them at its own sites, eventually prompting a push for a closer-to-home option.
Directors vent about fairness and dumping
Electoral Area C director Marty Gibbons called it “absolutely ridiculous” that the province has not put the cost onto mattress buyers through EPR. Van Nostrand said CSRD has lobbied hard and staff were disappointed mattresses were left out of the latest regulatory update.
Directors also kicked around how to discourage dumping, including monitoring and reporting. Gibbons warned about overdoing surveillance, joking that anyone trying to dump a mattress could end up “infamous on social media” because “there are cameras in the bush.”
For now, CSRD is moving ahead with the contract, continuing to charge residents $15 per unit, and keeping political pressure on Victoria to add mattresses to B.C.’s producer-funded recycling system.
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