Residents of single-family homes in Riley Park and Sunset could see garbage collection reduced to every two weeks and yard trimmings collection increased to once a week this fall if city council approves staff recommendations July 14.
To ensure the second phase of its food waste diversion program rolls out smoothly, staff recommend a trial expansion of food scrap collection.
The city started collecting fruit and vegetable waste, tea bags, coffee grounds and filters deposited with yard trimmings from single-family homes in April 2010.
If council approves staffs suggestions at a city services and budgets meeting, the city would soon collect meat, fish, dairy, bread, cereal and food-soiled paper from 2,000 homes in Riley Park and Sunset.
Staff selected the two neighbourhoods for their mix of English, Chinese and Punjabi speakers to test its communication strategies to streamline future citywide implementation.
Service in Riley Park and Sunset is recommended to change Sept. 8.
Sixty per cent of the 129,000 tonnes of food scraps generated in 麻豆传媒映画hail from businesses. Multi-family homes contribute approximately 21 per cent and single-family homes 20 per cent.
But private businesses haul the bulk of waste from multi-family and commercial sectors. So city staff recommend including up to four low-rise apartment buildings and up to three small businesses that the city already collects waste from in the pilot.
The primary purpose is to understand what the opportunities are, what the barriers are, to share that information with the private sector haulers, share that information with the regional district, said Chris Underwood, the citys manager of solid waste management.
Staff recommend a four-month trial for these properties with outreach starting in July or August. Weekly collection of compostables would start on a weekly basis Nov. 7 at no cost to property owners. Garbage pickup would continue unchanged.
Disposal of organic waste at the landfill contributes to the production of greenhouse gas. By weight, food scraps and food-soiled paper represent about 35 per cent of waste at the landfill, according to a city report.
The generation of an estimated 40,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions would be avoided at the 麻豆传媒映画Landfill if all food scraps from single-family homes in the city were diverted from the landfill, the report states.
Results of the first year of food and vegetable waste collection reveal that 12 per cent of approximately 100,000 single-family homes in the city are adding food scraps to their yard trimmings. The city reports this rate is similar to the 10 years it took to achieve a 95 per cent diversion rate with yard trimmings and the 15 years it took to achieve a 77 per cent diversion rate of blue box recyclables.
The city has experienced problems with too many residents dumping their organics wrapped in plastic, which contaminates the load.
Some are concerned residents would be more apt to wrap meat and fish in plastic or that these items, left unwrapped, would smell and attract flies.
From my own personal experience, simply wrapping your food scraps in newspaper is a great way to deal with these things and reduce any problems you might have, Underwood said.
The city is considering giving out countertop buckets for scraps as part of its communication strategy.
The trial aims to see 35 per cent uptake in Riley Park and Sunset in six months, made possible by targeted marketing.
Staff is requesting $175,000 for the trials.
After six months, the city will report on how expanded food scrap collection should progress citywide. Its working with Metro 麻豆传媒映画on options to divert food scraps from businesses and institutions.
Twitter: @Cheryl_Rossi
