The City of Castlegar’s new organics program is just over a month away and the city has now launched an online platform on the city’s website to help answer resident’s questions.
The goal of the new waste management system is to reduce garbage sent to the landfill by separating household waste into three streams: organics, recycling and garbage.
New 120-L garbage bins with grey lids will arrive on resident’s doorsteps in the next few weeks. Residents will also receive a small kitchen catcher for collecting organics as well as a detailed program guide.
The first collection will take place Aug. 21.
From then on your current 240-L green-lidded large garbage cart will become the organics cart. Food scraps and yard trimmings will go into the organics cart for weekly curbside pick up.
“We’re excited to bring residents this new service which aligns with waste reduction goals outlined in the Regional District of Central Kootenay Resource Recovery Plan, the city’s Official Community Plan, and our commitment to Renewable Energy by 2050,” says municipal services director Chris Hallam. “We don’t have limitless space in our landfills — keeping organic waste out of the garbage frees up much-needed capacity and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.”
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According to the city, the new program means less garbage and less smell.
While the organics will be collected every week, recycling and garbage will continue to be collected every other week.
On average, organic waste makes up 40 per cent of household garbage. So the diversion of organics should mean that resident’s will have less landfill-destined garbage, allowing for the use of the smaller carts.
Residents who cannot fit all of their garbage into the smaller carts will be allowed to purchase a second cart, but the city is encouraging everyone to give the new program a try first.
“As your household adapts to the new collection system, we encourage you to monitor your solid waste levels for at least three months before considering it necessary to get an additional garbage cart,” says a city press release.
Additional carts will also come with a one-time administration fee and an additional annual collection fee.
All residential properties, including single-family homes, duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes and city approved multi-family sites serviced by shared commercial bins are included in the program. If you have a set of garbage and recycling carts that are collected by the city, your household is included.
If you have excess yard waste, you can still drop it off at the city’s Yard Waste Composting Site, located at 2101 6th Avenue at the Castlegar and District Community Complex.
Learn more
Frequently asked questions, the new collection schedule and information on what can and can’t go into carts can be found at castlegar.ca/curbside. The site also features a search feature where you can enter an item that you have a question about and find out where it should go.
Residents can also contact the new solid waste and organics ambassador at 250-365-5979 or curbside@castlegar.ca.
betsy.kline@castlegarnews.com
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