The City of Lethbridge is preparing to deliver curbside organics collection carts across the community, April 5, 2023. (Photo: City of Lethbridge)

By David Opinko

City of Lethbridge to start distributing green bins next week

Apr 5, 2023 | 11:30 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Residents across Lethbridge will soon take part in the city’s curbside organics collection program.

The City of Lethbridge said it will start to deliver green carts to homes in the north-west section of the city on Tuesday, April 11, 2023.

Residents in the Garry Station and Country Meadows neighbourhoods will be the first to receive their bins. Staff will then move south throughout the city over the next month.

According to the city, all homes with curbside collection can expect to receive their bin by May 12, 2023. Approximately 34,000 homes will be included in this phase of the program.

The first city-wide curbside organics collection date is scheduled for May 16, 2023. They will be collected weekly from May to October and bi-weekly from November to April.

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The City of Lethbridge is preparing to deliver curbside organics collection bins across the community, April 5, 2023. (Photo: City of Lethbridge)

Residents will be charged $5 for the program for the first time on their May 2023 utility bill.

The city said the implementation of organics collection is a major step towards its waste diversion goals. Officials estimate that more than half of what currently goes into the black garbage bins could instead be put into green carts and turned into compost.

The city-wide expansion of the green bin initiative follows a pilot project that began in April 2022.

Approximately 1,900 homes in the Varsity Village, Legacy Ridge, and Hardieville neighbourhoods were equipped with green bins and had the opportunity to provide feedback.

In a survey released in January 2023, approximately 78.1 per cent of respondents said they were happy with the program, and cited the environmental benefits of organics collection, freeing up more space in their garbage bins, and the convenience it provided as a few of its positive aspects.

Multi-family homes will become part of the curbside organics collection program at a later, yet-to-be-determined date.

More details on the curbside organics collection program are on the City of Lethbridge website.

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