Recycling program on track
MORE RESIDENTS PARTICIPATING
Lethbridge’s curbside recycling program is going according to plan two weeks after blue cart collection first started city-wide, says the City’s Waste and Recycling Services general manager Joel Sanchez.
“During these two weeks, we have been able to collect 192 tonnes of materials, which is really good, and probably what we were expecting,” he says. “Out of the 192 tonnes we have received at the (MRF) facility, we have processed 171 tonnes. The quality of the material so far we have received from residents is really good. Less than 10 tonnes have been rejected from the facility — so that’s probably less than eight per cent contamination. During the Phase 1 (pilot program), we saw contamination between 10 and 14 per cent, and now our city-wide roll out is consistent with that number.”
There was about a 50 per cent participation rate from Lethbridge residents in week one, a lower number which Sanchez attributes mainly to general confusion as residents were still getting used to this new service. By week two, Sanchez says, nearly 70 per cent of residents were taking part.
“We know it is going to take a little bit of time for people to get used to and to adapt to the program,” Sanchez concedes, “but we are already starting to see that increase in participation.”
Sanchez also confirms less than four per cent of carts subjected to curbside audits thus far have been rejected— which is an outstanding success rate, he says. The majority of contamination detected came from improperly cleaned containers rather than incorrect materials placed in the carts.
“When containers have food residues we are not able to recycle those materials, because they will contaminate the whole load,” explains Sanchez. “Everything that is going into the blue carts, if it has food residue or other contaminant (residues), we ask that you wash them out before throwing them in.” Follow @TimKalHerald on Twitter