Workers deliver green bins to homes in the Legacy Ridge area for the pilot project in April 2022. (Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Most residents in Lethbridge’s “green bin” pilot happy: survey

Jan 16, 2023 | 10:30 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The City of Lethbridge says its curbside organics collection pilot project was a success.

In April 2022, approximately 1,900 homes in the Varsity Village, Legacy Ridge, and Hardieville neighbourhoods were equipped with green bins as the municipality looked to prepare for a city-wide rollout.

After residents had a few months to test out the new system, a survey was conducted between September 30 and October 30, 2022.

Out of 535 respondents, 78.1 per cent said they were happy with the program. 15.6 per cent had a “neutral satisfaction” while 6.3 per cent were unhappy with the service.

Waste and Recycling General Manager Steve Rozee says it is not easy to ask people to change how they dispose of waste, but was pleased to see an overall level of positivity.

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“What is clear in the feedback of the first phase survey though, is the majority of residents are pleased with the program. We will consider feedback on potential improvements as we prepare to roll out curbside organics to the rest of the city,” says Rozee.

Residents said they liked the environmental benefits of organics collection (75.3 per cent), it left more space in their black garbage bins (64.9 per cent) and more than half enjoyed the convenience of the program (58 per cent).

Waste and Recycling Operations Manager James Nicholls said he liked that nearly three-quarters of respondents noticed that they produced less garbage.

“What was promising to see was 73 per cent of survey respondents said they noticed a change to the amount of waste in their black carts since starting the program,” says Nicholls. “The curbside organics program is really intended to divert waste from the landfill and so seeing this result from the survey illustrates this program is meeting this goal.”

While much of the feedback the city received was positive, residents had a few points of criticism with the program or suggestions on how to improve it, including:

• Some pet owners asked for the ability to include animal waste.
• Some suggested that the city eliminate the $5 or $4 per month fee increase for the green bin program.
• A bin cleaning service was suggested.
• Some respondents requested smaller-sized carts, particularly for single residents.
• Some residents said the included kitchen pail broke early on in the pilot through regular use.
• Many felt that more education is needed on organics collection and its benefits.

Green bins will be distributed to single-family homes across Lethbridge in spring 2023 and will include multi-family dwellings at a later date.

The full “What We Heard” report can be viewed on the City of Lethbridge website.

READ MORE: Phase one of Lethbridge’s curbside organics collection begins