Hatters keen on yard waste program

With another 650 green bins requested buy homeowners, tonnage collected is reaching lofty levels

Excuse the pun, but city officials are citing organic growth as the reason for growing tonnage of yard waste collected by the solid waste department and kept out of the landfill through a composting program.

With residential green bin collection now complete for the year, officials say a total of 7,673 tonnes of lawn clippings, leaves, small branches and other material was picked up by crews or dropped off free of charge at the landfill by residents.

That represents a nine per cent increase from the 7,057 tonnes reported last year, and likely due to greater participation by residents.

It’s below an all-time record in 2016, when broken branches from major wind storms boosted the figures by 1,000 tonnes, or 1 million kilograms, more than five years ago.

“We believe the increase in tonnage is due to increasing participation – which is great to see,” said Brian Murphy, general manager of the environmental utilities department.

He says more people are being conscious of using their green bins, and more residents are signing up for the service.

About 650 homeowners requested green bins this summer, with Murphy saying the spike coincided with the rollout of blue cart pickup service for general recycling last spring.

In general, he said, Hatters are becoming more conscious and more involved.

“We are very pleased with the growth in the yard waste program and we appreciate the participation of residents,” he said. “The program helps conserve valuable landfill airspace and produces a useful product from the composting program.”

Bagged and bulk compost is available for sale at the landfill.

Residential waste collection customers can obtain a green cart by contacting the city’s environmental utilities department.

Yard waste is accepted year round and free of charge when full loads of separated material are dropped off.

Composting organic material on the surface releases an amount of carbon dioxide, but burying the waste leads to the production of methane, considered to be 25 times more harmful to the environment.

Its reduction is an area of focus in federal and provincial climate change plans.

NEWS PHOTO COLLIN GALLANT Workers at the city landfill move piles of compostable material around on Friday. Officials with Medicine Hat's solid waste department report that through green cart collection and yard waste drop-off, a total of about 7,600 tonnes of grass, leaves and branches will be kept out of the landfill, representing a nine per cent increase from 2017.