By Lara Fominoff @LaraFominoff on Twitter

70 per cent overall compliance rate for curbside recycling program Phase One

Aug 13, 2018 | 1:54 PM

LETHBRIDGE – It has been about four-and-a-half months since Phase 1 of the curbside recycling program got underway for 900 households across the city.

The curbside recycling program began in early April, with several neighborhoods taking part throughout the city. The blue bins are collected bi-weekly, along with garbage. Materials like hard plastics, paper and cardboard, metal cans and foil and beverage containers excluding glass bottles are all accepted.

Plastic bags, yard waste, glass containers, rope, paper drinking cups and electronics are not acceptable.

So far, Waste and Recycling General Manager Joel Sanchez says things are going better than expected.

“At this point the set-out rate, which is how many times people put the bins outside every time we do collection has been around 70 per cent. It varies from area to area.”

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Sanchez says more people living on the west side tend to set out their bins every time (75 per cent), while those living on the south side of the city tend to do so less often (60 per cent).

“Overall we’re very happy with the participation of the residents,” says Sanchez. “It depends on the demographic. Some residents don’t have the need to put the bins out every time.”

Audits were completed in June which noted that the bins collected were at least 60 per cent full each time they were collected. About 20 residents have requested smaller blue bins, however at this time only the 360 litre ones are available.

Feedback from those participating in the program has been positive overall, he says. Students have been collecting information over the summertime, including tagging bins where people are putting in materials that are not acceptable.

“After you explain the reason, they usually say ‘thank you’ and they comply.”

So far, more than 25,000 kg of recyclable material has been collected. More than 50 per cent of that material consisted of cardboard, 26 per cent was paper material, 15 per cent were plastics, 3 per cent were metal containers and 2 per cent were beverage containers.

Some of the materials found in the blue bins that were not acceptable included footwear, small appliances, knives, food, clothing and batteries.

“The contamination rate was lower than we thought we were going to get,” explains Sanchez. “When you talk to other cities like Calgary and Edmonton for example…their contamination rate is between 15 to 20 per cent. In Phase One so far, our contamination rate has been less than 10 percent, which is really good.”

A Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) is now under construction and should be completed sometime by the spring of 2019 where recyclable materials can be processed locally. Until then, the recycling program won’t expand beyond those who are already taking part in it.

For more information, go to http://curbside.lethbridge.ca/