City addresses curbside recycling questions; explores new initiatives including banning plastic bags
LETHBRIDGE – At Monday’s City Council meeting (April 30), Mayor Chris Spearman presented several questions from the community about the first phase of the city’s new curbside recycling program to Director of Infrastructure Services, Doug Hawkins.
They included concerns about recycled material marketability; whether the city would have issues selling on the world market, how the city could guarantee that recyclables don’t end up in the land fill and whether residents can refuse to take part in the blue bin program.
Hawkins also talked about some new initiatives administration is beginning to look at, including potentially banning local retailers from selling or using plastic bags.
He told council that because Lethbridge is one of the last municipalities in the country to begin a curbside recycling program, the city has the advantage of designing it to focus on the quality of the material and with recommendations from industry experts and commodity brokers. A thorough and ongoing public education program and engagement is part of that process.