Chestermere Utilities Inc. (CUI) won the 2016 Recycling Council of Alberta Award of Excellence in the municipal program category Sept. 29.
“We’re pleased to see the efforts of our community recognized in this manner,” said CUI Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Leigh-Anne Palter.
The CUI was recognized for its decision to use clear plastic bags for curbside collection of garbage alongside blue bins for recyclables and green bins for organics.
“They are an incredibly cost effective and operationally simple way for us to deliver waste management services in Chestermere,” said Palter.
Chestermere is unique in that many similarly sized communities don’t have a curbside diversion program or only have garbage and recycling.
“Chestermere’s program is unique because we’re offering all three services curbside; garbage, recycling and organics collection and because the use of a clear bag for the non-recyclables (garbage) that is placed curbside,” she said.
Since May 2015, when the program was started, the CUI has diverted a significant amount of recyclable and organic waste from the landfill.
“In 2015, our first partial year of the program, we’d diverted nearly 40% of the waste produced by CUI’s customers from the landfill,” said Palter.
The program was implemented incrementally, garbage was reduced to one bag per residence in October 2015 and the clear bags became mandatory in February 2016.
“We were pleased with those early results,” she said.
The final phase will be implemented in January 2017 when organics will no longer be permitted in the garbage.
The program does not include multi-family developments in the City who receive services from private providers.
In the first eight months of the program when the clear bags were available but not mandatory the CUI was averaging 186 tonnes of garbage to the landfill per month.
In the following seven months, when the clear bags became mandatory, garbage collections decreased by 52 per cent, down to an average of 97 tonnes per month.
Palter said that the award recognizes the efforts of the community not just the CUI.
“It really is an award that recognizes the efforts of many,” she said, “the Council members who had the courage to approve such an ambitious and innovative program, the customers who readily embraced the changes and our staff who’ve worked hard day in and day out to deliver the service.”
The benefits of the curbside program go beyond just protecting the environment with less waste going to landfills.
The program works within the city’s strategic plan and supports principles of innovation and sustainability.
“The changes are also allowing us to manage the cost of providing waste management services in Chestermere,” said Palter.
“The cost of disposing of our waste has been reduced by 50% compared to what the costs would have been without the program,” she said.
The CUI plans to build on their successes that led to this award.
“First we’re going to focus on making the transition to the next and final phase of the program in January as smooth as possible,” said Palter.
She said that the CUI is also looking at ways to improve services, make curbside collection more cost effective and see if there are other elements that can be added to enhance the service ensure the program’s sustainability.
One challenge that the CUI is facing is the amount of contamination in the blue recycling carts.
“Right now about 30% (by weight) of what we’re collecting in the recycling carts has to go to the landfill; things like Styrofoam, fabrics, plastic toys and other non-recyclables are making their way into the carts,” she said.
Dealing with the non-recyclable materials drives up the cost of disposal said Palter.
“We’re planning some communications initiatives and changes to enforcement that we hope will bring those rates down and improve our financial results,” she said.
A longer term goal is to look at the feasibility of including others in the program such as multi-family residences in Chestermere or expanding service to neighbouring communities.
