Every home in Okotoks will have three bins to fill starting this fall as the Town launches its community-wide mandatory recycling and organic waste collection program.
Beginning in mid-September, the Town will deliver green organic waste carts to all residents and blue recycling bins to those who aren’t already subscribed to the curbside collection service.
All residents will pay a monthly waste services fee of $20.50. It will cost an additional $7 per month for households not signed up for curbside recycling, and there won’t be any additional cost for those that already have the blue bins.
Okotoks waste services manager Paul Lyons said the Town is working toward its goal of reducing waste heading to the landfill by 80 per cent.
“When residents have the carts at their homes, it is much easier to recycle and take advantage of these services,” said Lyons. “We anticipate a significant reduction in landfill waste once we have universal recycling and organics pick-up.”
Council voted in favour of the waste management plan at its June 27 meeting, agreeing to implement the universal curbside pick-up service, the $20.50 monthly fee and a five-year contract for organics collection.
In addition, council agreed to remove the south side recycling bins, currently located at the northwest end of the Walmart parking lot, on Oct. 1.
Lyons said the bins were installed as an option for south-side residents before the 32 Street bridge was constructed, but the unmanned bins have caused some issues for the Town.
“It literally became a dumping ground,” he said. “We send our truck to pick up the recycling and they end up driving straight to the landfill because it’s so contaminated. That defeats the purpose.”
The implementation of a universal curbside program renders the south-side recycling bins unnecessary, he added.
Coun. Tanya Thorn said the plan is a step in the right direction for recycling services and waste reduction.
“I think as a community that prides itself on sustainability, environmental footprint, all those things, a universal collection system is an area we need to go,” Thorn said during the June 27 meeting. “We’re significantly behind a lot of other communities in this area.”
With the Province indicating they will no longer approve additional landfill space in Alberta, it’s vital to extend the lifespan of the Foothills’ landfill, she said.
“Organics collection has been proven to remove about 40 per cent of garbage out of the landfill stream,” said Thorn.
She said there may be issues along the way as the organics program is launched, but the Town needs to take the first step in getting the universal program up and running.
Coun. Carrie Fischer said she’s not so sure the program is the positive solution it seems.
She said a lot of residents choose to reduce waste at-source, with practices like avoiding plastic bags, or won’t be able to fill the large recycling bins. She said these people will be unfairly charged the same fee as those utilizing the service on a regular basis.
“These families will be asked to spend between $45-50 every two months on this garbage collection, on something they physically cannot use,” Fischer said during the meeting. “Now we are mandating to take this bin on, and there are families who are going to be challenged to fill this once a month, yet they’re paying the same rate I am if I choose to fill it once a week.”
She said asking people to pay for a service they may not use is a difficult thing to do in tough economic times.
Fischer argued for an amendment to provide options for bi-weekly and once-monthly pick-ups for those who do not need a weekly service. The amendment was defeated.
“You’re punishing those who have chosen to reduce their waste at-source or don’t waste as much as other people do, and giving them this fee and this huge bin and telling them that is the only option available to them is unfortunate and heavy-handed,” said Fischer.
After advocating for these options to be made available over the past year, Fischer said she was disappointed to see no effort was made to accommodate different schedules for families who need them.
She said the plan as it stands won’t necessarily remove waste from the landfill.
“For all of the fluffy, superficial, environmental consideration in this, I don’t see how it actually supports waste reduction,” said Fischer. “If you’re giving everybody 240L carts, regardless of whether they use that amount of waste or not, it encourages more waste.
“I think it’s actually not sound environmental practice, on top of the detriment it is to families.”
Lyons said different pick-up options were investigated, but would have cost more for the Town to implement. He said it’s not surprising the plan can’t accommodate everyone.
“We could never put together a program that would suit all of our residents, but we need to have a starting point,” said Lyons. “Administration will monitor the program on an ongoing basis. We have to see where there are gaps or issues and address them accordingly.”
To help residents acclimatize to the recycling program, Lyons said the Town is offering a promotion for those who subscribe to the current curbside recycling service over the summer. Anyone who signs up in July or August will receive one month for free, he said.
“We’re hoping to get residents to volunteer to sign up and get an opportunity to taste and see how good it is before it’s mandated,” said Lyons.
Public sessions will be held in September to provide guidance for residents, particularly with organics recycling, he said.
Residents can call the Town to get information about the program any time, he said. Waste services staff can be reached at one of three numbers: 403-938-8054, 403-995-2775, or 403-938-2652.
