Garbage, Recycling and Bulky Items: Running Waste in a BC Strata

You walk out Monday morning and there is a couch beside the bins, the recycling cart has a bag of drywall in it, and someone has taped a new notice to the chute room door in large font. Nobody on council remembers approving the notice, and the owner who left the couch says the rule was never sent to them.

The tension is not the couch. It is that the strata's waste rules live on a laminated sign instead of in the record, so nobody can agree on what was decided, when, or by whom. Here is how BC law sorts out who sets waste rules, how they become enforceable, and who approves the cost of hauling the couch away.

Bylaw or rule? The distinction does most of the work

Waste in a strata is governed by two different instruments, and mixing them up is the usual source of trouble.

• Rules. Under s.125 of the Strata Property Act, a strata corporation may make rules governing the use, safety and condition of the common property and common assets. A garbage room, chute, bin enclosure or recycling area is common property in most strata plans, so rules are a legitimate tool there. Council can make a rule without an owners' vote — but three things follow: all rules, including those posted on signs, must be set out in a written document capable of being photocopied; owners and tenants must be informed of new rules as soon as feasible; and a rule ceases to have effect at the first annual general meeting after it is made unless it is ratified by a majority vote at that AGM or at an SGM held earlier.
• Bylaws. Anything that reaches beyond the use, safety and condition of common property — duties inside a strata lot, chargebacks, fine amounts — belongs in the bylaws. A bylaw amendment has no effect until it is filed in the Land Title Office (s.128), and the corporation must inform owners and tenants of the amendment as soon as feasible after approval.

If a rule conflicts with a bylaw, the bylaw prevails (s.125(5)), and a rule is unenforceable to the same extent a bylaw would be under s.121 — for example, if it contravenes the Act, the regulations or the Human Rights Code. Worth noting: the Schedule of Standard Bylaws contains no bylaw written specifically about garbage or recycling, so whatever your building enforces comes from your own registered bylaws or from rules council has made. If you are unsure which you have, our explainer on strata bylaws vs rules walks through the difference.

Questions councils actually ask

Is the sign in the garbage room enforceable?
Only if it reflects a rule or bylaw that exists in writing. Section 125(3) requires all rules, including those on signs, to be set out in a written document capable of being photocopied, and s.125(4) requires the corporation to inform owners and tenants of new rules as soon as feasible. A sign nobody can trace to a decision is not a foundation for a fine.

Can council fine an owner for leaving a mattress by the bins?
It can use the enforcement options in s.129 — impose a fine, remedy the contravention under s.133, or deny access to a recreational facility under s.134 — and it may first give a warning or time to comply. But before imposing a fine or charging the cost of remedying a contravention, s.135 requires all of: written particulars of the complaint, a reasonable opportunity to respond including a hearing if requested, and written notice of the decision as soon as feasible. A fine imposed without those steps is void and cannot be fixed later.

How much can the fine be?
The Regulation caps what a strata may put in its bylaws: under s.7.1, $200 for each contravention of a bylaw and $50 for each contravention of a rule, with continuing contraventions fineable no more often than every 7 days. Your strata can only fine up to the amount its own bylaws set out, which may be lower.

Who pays to haul away the bulky item?
That depends on whether the person responsible can be identified and what your bylaws say about recovering the cost of remedying a contravention. Where no one is identified, it is a common expense of running the property.

The money side of waste

Two provisions come up more often than councils expect:

• Service contracts and disposal runs. Spending from the operating fund must be consistent with the fund's purposes and either authorized in the budget, approved by a 3/4 vote at a general meeting, or permitted under the Act's limited-spending provisions (s.97). Budget a realistic line for bulky-item pickups and contamination charges, and the 3/4-vote scramble never happens.
• Buying bins, carts or a compactor. These are personal property. Under s.82, prior approval at an annual or special general meeting is required where the market value exceeds the amount set in the bylaws, or $1,000 if the bylaws are silent — by 3/4 vote for an ordinary purchase. Keeping the waste room and chute in working order is part of the corporation's duty to repair and maintain common property (s.72).

Councils that self-manage tend to catch these earlier because they handle the invoices directly; if that is you, see how to self-manage a strata in BC.

What a healthy strata does about it

Waste is a small topic that exposes a big habit: whether decisions live in the record or on a door.

• Write the rule down, date it, and minute it. The resolution that created it, and the ratification vote at the next AGM, both belong in the minutes — see how to prepare AGM minutes in BC.
• Send it, don't just post it. Informing owners and tenants as soon as feasible is the statutory step, and it is also the one that ends "I was never told".
• Keep the paper. The Regulation requires current copies of the bylaws and rules to be retained, and correspondence for at least 2 years (s.4.1). Warning letters and s.135 particulars are what an enforcement decision stands on.
• Review the actual bylaws before enforcing. If nobody is sure what is registered, tools like SearchStrata can run an AI analysis of your filed strata documents so council is reading the same text owners are.

Councils change and managers change; the rules, minutes and votes should not leave with them. ManageStrata keeps that record with the corporation, and council can export a full copy at any time — so next year's council inherits the decision, not just the sign.

This article is general information about BC strata law, not legal advice; verify against the current Strata Property Act and Regulation or consult a BC strata lawyer.