The City says the curbside recycling program has been a success so far (Lethbridge News Now)

By Justin Goulet

Blue Cart Success

Positive response to first few weeks of curbside recycling

May 24, 2019 | 11:18 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The City of Lethbridge’s curbside recycling program is currently underway, and feedback from the community has been positive, according to City officials.

Waste and Recycling Manager Joel Sanchez said to date, around 192 tonnes of recyclables have been collected over the first two weeks of the program.

“During the first week, the set out rate – or the amount of people that put the carts outside on the curb, was around fifty percent. On the second week, that increased to sixty-five percent, close to seventy percent,” Sanchez told the media on Friday.

“We know it’s going to take a little bit of time for people to get used to (the program) and to adapt to the program, and we’ve already started to see that increase in participation, which is great.”

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He noted that out of the approximately 192 tonnes they collected, crews have processed around 172 tonnes at the collection facility.

“The quality of the materials so far – what residents have been doing is really good, we have seen materials with good quality. Less than ten tonnes have been rejected from the facility,” he said.

He said that means about less than eight percent of materials collected were either contaminated or not able to be recycled.

PICK-UP DAYS

Sanchez said there was a bit of confusion during the first week of the program, with some people not knowing when exactly to put their blue carts out on their curb.

However, he said participation rose from the first to second week, and more people are adapting to the program, adding that the availability of the City’s 311 call line program has been a help to residents.

“During the first two weeks, we have received less than 1,000 calls related to recycling and out of those thousand, I will say probably 80 percent have been information request … we’ve been able to point residents to the areas that they need to look at,” he said.

Sanchez noted that so far, materials that are being sent to the landfill are those that are contaminated or those that don’t fit the criteria to be recycled.

“Out of 172 (tonnes), only 9.5 tonnes have been disposed of (in the landfill).”

He added that one compactor at the collection facility has been disposed of, because it contained contaminated materials.

96 percent of carts that are being put out have materials compliant with the program, according to Sanchez. There have been more than 7,000 carts checked over the last two weeks, and just 301 were tagged as having too much contamination to be collected.

“Anything that is going into the blue cart, if it has any food residue or any contaminates, we ask people just to wash it out before they put it in to their blue cart.”

A comprehensive guide to what can and cannot be recycled can be found through the City of Lethbridge’s curbside recycling program website.

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