Green bin service reduced for winter to every other week

Calgary’s green bin service is being reduced for the winter. Starting Nov. 6, the compost pickup shifts from weekly to every other week.

City of Calgary waste diversion specialist Laura Hamilton, who runs the green cart program, spoke to the Calgary Eyeopener about the new schedule on Monday.

Q: When did you decide to change the schedule?

A: We made the decision a few months ago. We wanted to have about a year’s worth of collection under our belts before we made any changes, just to see how Calgarians were using the program. And we did see that volumes do decrease in the winter, as expected, with less yard waste. This was a change that really made sense to start this year.

Last winter, we did get a lot of feedback from Calgarians saying they weren’t seeing the same volume, and that it made sense to find some efficiencies there.

Q: Does changing it save some money?

A: Yes, there is approximately $2 million annually that’s expect to be saved … but we need to keep in mind that green cart fees that are taken in run the entire program: so operating the facility, the carts themselves, the trucks plus all of our education and communications material.

That’s all incorporated into the fees, so some of those costs are really fixed.

Q: Is it doing what you hoped?

A: It’s been going really well. By end of September, we had collected just over 111 million kilograms of material, in the first full year, so 30 per cent more than we were expecting, than we originally forecast.

We’ve had a 46 per cent to 50 per cent decrease in what we’re seeing going to the landfill from our black carts.

Q: Have people finally figured out how to do it right?

A: Definitely we have to adapt. It’s a change and so it  takes some time to get used to, but Calgarians are doing a great job.

We still do see some plastic bags in there, and some food and packaging. We’re still working on making sure Calgarians know if you use bags in your kitchen pails, to buy certified compostable bags and to make sure you’re taking food out of packing before it goes into the green cart.

Q: How about getting those stickers off fruit?

A: We’re really trying to get that message out there. So the more Calgarians can keep those little details in mind, the better — stickers, staples out of tea bags if you can. But it generally is going really well.

Q: I know you’ve been considering a pay-as-you-throw program for the black cart. What about doing that for the green cart?

A: Right now, the program is quite new, so we’re really focused on making sure Calgarians get used to using the cart.

You’re right, we are developing recommendations for a pay-as-you-throw program for the black cart. And so once we get something like that in place, we’ll look at some options for green cart.

Right now, we’re focusing on our proper usage of the green cart and then we’ll look at our options in the future.

​With files from the Calgary Eyeopener.

Original Source