Council on board with curbside recycling
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LETHBRIDGE – City Council has approved a residential curbside recycling program in Lethbridge, with a vote of 8-1, nearly a year after it was originally defeated.
With the exception of Councillor Joe Mauro, council agreed to implement a Residential Waste Diversion Strategy, and begin a bi-weekly collection pilot project in spring 2018 with 1,000 residences. That will be funded up to $600,000 from the recycling accumulated surplus.
City-wide, bi-weekly collection is set to be implemented in 2019, alternating each week with waste collection. Recyclables will not have to be sorted before being placed in blue bins. A seven-dollar monthly charge will be added to residential utility bills just prior to that time.
Plans for a green cart, organic materials system will be prepared for council’s consideration in 2019.
Lethbridge’s existing recycling stations will remain open 24 hours for those who have additional or large items to recycle, and stay as yard waste drop-off sites.
Finally, a consultation committee will be setup to engage with the private recycling collection sector and explore how existing businesses can participate in the program. A report is expected to come back to council by May 31, 2017.
Councillors Liz Iwaskiw and Rob Miyashiro, both of which originally opposed the decision on January 25, 2016, made the resolution to approve the curbside program at Monday’s (Nov. 28) meeting.
“I think we need to look at the big picture,” said Miyashiro. “What tipped it off for me was a discussion last week about the landfill, and how much money that’s going to cost over the next 30 years. If we can extend the life of our landfill, we’ve saved money and we’re doing the right thing for the environment.”
Councillor Iwaskiw shared much of the same sentiment. “In the past, I questioned the necessity of a municipal curbside recycling program. But since council last considered the issue, it has become apparent to me that if our community is going to make a meaningful reduction in the amount of garbage we dispose of, we need everyone involved.”
Currently, Lethbridge generates 1,150-kg per capita of waste from both residential and non-residential sources. Through this strategy, that will be reduced to 795-kg per capita by 2021, and down even further to 600-kg by 2030.
City administration has now been tasked to prepare two projects for the upcoming 2018-2027 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) to include collection equipment, as well as the design and contruction of a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) in Lethbridge. The MRF would receive, separate and prepare recyclables for sale.
The sale of recyclable materials is then expected to offset a portion of the overall cost of the curbside program.
The Town of Taber has already started to explore the feasability of a regional MRF, which would require collection from major centres like Lethbridge, Medicine Hat and Brooks. But Councillor Miyashiro noted that it’s too early to tell how that will be worked out.
There was still opposition to the move at Monday’s meeting, though. Councillor Mauro argued that residents shouldn’t have to pay for something they don’t wish to use. Other residents in attendance also shouted things like “unfair guys” and “fire them” in response to the decision, feeling that the City had sprung the decision on them.
Mayor Chris Spearman added that council has been researching the issue for more than two years, and it’s one of their strategic goals “to be leaders in preserving our environment.”
