Green bin tonnage up 124 per cent

WATERLOO REGION — Green bin use is up by 124 per cent in Waterloo Region in the six months since the new garbage collection rules took effect.

Less garbage is also being picked up at the curb since March, a decrease of 22 per cent.

Blue box recycling tonnage collected curbside increased by 13 per cent and yard waste tonnage by 11 per cent.

“It’s been phenomenal change,” said Kathleen Barsoum, waste co-ordinator for the Region of Waterloo. “We’re excited by what the next six months will bring.”

By July, more green bin material had been collected than all of the previous year.

A second shift was added to the sorting line at the materials sorting centre to handle the increased volume of blue box materials.

Barsoum said the region is “thrilled to pieces” by residents’ commitment to keeping garbage out of the landfill by focusing on recycling as much as possible in the green and blue bins.

“It’s a holistic approach to rethinking waste,” Barsoum said. “They’re really stopping and reconsidering.”

Not only does recycling more save room in the Waterloo landfill to extend its lifetime, but it also cuts down on greenhouse gas emissions. The dump is “just a terrible place for food to break down,” Barsoum said.

Many residents came to regional pickup sites for green bins in January and February ahead of the new collection schedule that has garbage picked up alternate weeks while recycling and green bins are picked up at the curb every week.

Despite the challenges of composting in the summer, “our residents pulled through that,” Barsoum said.

Now, “we have people who are coming in now getting their second green bin.”

The region will do more research after a year of the new collection schedule, including street surveys and waste audits.

Curbside audits a few years ago sparked the push for changes when it was discovered two-

thirds of what was going into landfill could have been recycled.

“We were losing a lot into the landfill,” Barsoum said.

There are a couple areas that still need work, she said. People should be getting their waste out to the curb by 7 a.m. on their pickup day because routes can change.

Blue bin sorting could also improve. Containers should go in one bin, then paper and plastic bags in another.

Plastic bags have long been used to contain paper for recycling, making them a logical fit to be sorted with paper. Also, the bags cause problems when it’s in with the plastic containers because the thin plastic film wraps around the conveyor belt rollers.

“Everything will stop for a while,” Barsoum said.

She said the top comment the region hears from residents about the new collection routine is how all the bins are neatly nested once emptied. “People love the stacking of bins.”

When residents put their bins out at the curb, the heavier paper bin can be placed on the containers bin to prevent those lighter items from being picked up by the wind.

For those who only have one blue bin, containers can be separated to one side and paper and bags to the other.

Right from the start, Barsoum said, most residents were on board with the new focus on recycling.

That first week, regional staff were out in neighbourhoods checking and answering questions.

“People were well aware, people were interested, people were committed,” Barsoum said.

The region is hosting its popular landfill tours on Oct. 21 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Reserve a spot on the bus by calling 519-575-4400 or emailing waste@regionofwaterloo.ca.