Curbside Organic Waste Collection

August 17, 2023 - Curbside organic waste collection is starting next week for single- and multi-family households in Kamloops that receive curbside cart collection. All curbside customers have now received their organics carts and may now begin using them for organic waste.

Residents are reminded that collection schedules are changing. Organics will be collected weekly* and garbage and recycling will now be collected every other week on an alternating basis. (*Between December 1 and February 28/29, organics will be collected biweekly on garbage collection days.)

Residents may refer to the new zone-specific solid waste collection schedule that was included in the organics cart delivery or find collection schedules at Kamloops.ca/CollectionSchedules.

The NEW collection format begins the week of August 21:

• Monday, August 21: Zone 4, organics + garbage
• Tuesday, August 22: Zone 5, organics + garbage
• Wednesday, August 23: Zone 1, organics + garbage
• Thursday, August 24: Zone 2, organics + garbage
• Friday, August 25: Zone 3, organics + recycling
  
  

The week of August 28, collection will be organics and recycling for zones 1, 2, 4, and 5 and organics and garbage for zone 3.

More information on the organics program is included in the new Solid Waste Collection Guide that was included in the organics cart delivery and available at Kamloops.ca/Organics.

Residents are encouraged to sign up for collection day reminders on the free Kamloops Waste Wise app.

July 11, 2023 - Beginning in August, the City will be testing the use of bear-resistant curbside organics carts through a one-year pilot program.

The pilot program will be focused on understanding how effective bear-resistant carts are, how willing and able residents are to properly use them, and the impact on patterns of human-bear conflict.

Approximately 300 homes in the Juniper Ridge West neighbourhood will be included in the selected route. This area was chosen based on bear hazard assessment ratings.

The route includes properties on Galore Crescent, Galore Place, Galore Court, Emerald Drive, Myra Place, and part of Qu’Appelle Boulevard.

Residents can visit an online map of the pilot area to confirm if their property is included and to register to receive pilot program updates and invitations to provide feedback. The selected properties will also be receiving a mailout from the City this week informing them of the pilot program.

The selected households already receive curbside organic waste collection and have standard organics carts, as they were included in the City’s organic waste collection pilot program.

City crews will be swapping out those residents’ current organics cart with a bear-resistant one during their regular solid waste collection days of July 17, 24, and 31.

No action is required by residents. If a standard organics cart is at the curb on one of these July collection days, it will be emptied and then removed and replaced with a bear-resistant organics cart. A notification will be left at the door if crews are unable to swap the cart.

The bear-resistant organics cart is similar in size and shape to a standard organics cart but with additional features.

“The bear-resistant cart has a lid that is able to be clipped shut when not in use,” explained Danielle Sparks, the City’s Environmental Services Coordinator. “These carts are bear-resistant, not bear-proof, so we are emphasizing that our objective is to add another tool to our toolbox to help prevent human-bear interactions. We want residents to follow Bear Smart practices and manage bear attractants around their homes. This is reflected in our educational materials and in the Solid Waste and Recyclables Bylaw.”

Under the Solid Waste and Recyclables Bylaw:

• Residents must ensure that solid waste carts are stored securely and made inaccessible to wildlife.
• Between April 1 and November 30, carts must not be placed at the curb earlier than 4:00 am on collection day and must be removed from the curb no later than 7:00 pm year-round
• No property owner or occupier shall accumulate, store, or collect any wildlife attractants unless stored in an enclosed structure or closed container.
• Infractions may result in a $100 fine.

Sparks explained that animals are attracted to organic waste whether it’s in the garbage or organics cart.

“The more that residents make effective use of the organics cart as part of the new curbside collection program, the less of an attractant garbage carts will ultimately become.”

Success of the pilot program will be measured through resident feedback via surveys, field observations by staff, and analyzing wildlife reports to the Conservation Officer Service for the Juniper Ridge West area.

Following the pilot program, staff will provide a summary of findings and recommendations to Council for possible options and criteria to expand a bear-resistant organics cart program more broadly in the community.

For more about Bear Smart practices, visit Kamloops.ca/BearSmart.

June 23, 2023 - Curbside collection customers in Kamloops will soon be able to have their food scraps, food-soiled paper, and small amounts of yard waste collected at the curb as City staff are set to launch a community-wide curbside residential organic waste program to 27,000 single- and multi-family residential homes this summer.

The community-wide rollout of curbside residential organics collection represents the final phase in a multi-year project that included research, public consultation and a year-long pilot program. In August 2022, Council authorized city-wide expansion of the program, to be implemented in 2023.

City-wide organic waste collection will divert over 5,800 tonnes of organic waste from the City’s landfills annually and is estimated to reduce community greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 9,500 tonnes per year (equivalent to removing 2,000 passenger vehicles from local roads for one year).

The program will cost residents $1 per month, which will be reflected as a $3 charge on their quarterly utility bill, starting in January 2024.

The City received $1.7 8 million from the Province’s CleanBC Organic Infrastructure and Collection Program to help fund the new collection program.

“Keeping organic waste out of our landfills is part of our government’s commitment to reduce B.C.’s carbon footprint and support sustainable waste handling systems that benefit British Columbians,” said George Heyman, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy. “It is great to see the City of Kamloops take advantage of the provincial funding to invest in creating a cleaner, more resilient future for their community.”

TIMELINES FOR DELIVERY OF ORGANICS CARTS AND COLLECTION START DATES

Delivery of organics carts will occur by zone throughout July and early August as outlined below:

• July 5 to 13 - Zone 3
• July 12 to 18 - Zone 4
• July 17 to July 25 - Zone 5
• July 24 to August 1 - Zone 1
• July 31 to August 8 - Zone 2
  
  

Deliveries will occur Monday through Sunday between 7:00 am and 6:00 pm. Carts will be placed approximately 1 m onto the front of the property. Delivery will include a 120 L organics cart with a green lid. The curbside cart will contain a small kitchen bin (for food scraps), a supply of 30 accepted paper bin liners, a new Solid Waste Collection Guide, and a zone-specific collection schedule. Residents who require an extra kitchen bin for a suite can make the request online at Kamloops.ca/Organics.

Residents are asked not to use their organics cart until about a week before collection starts for their zone.

Organics collection will start in Zone 4 on Monday, August 21. New collection schedules for all zones, effective August 21, are available at Kamloops.ca/CollectionSchedules. Residents are encouraged to download the Waste Wise Kamloops app and sign up for collection day reminders.

WHAT’S INCLUDED IN ORGANICS COLLECTION?

Organic waste collection is primarily intended for kitchen food scraps, food-soiled paper, and some yard waste (the program does not replace the free yard waste disposal drop-off services, which will continue to operate).

Kitchen food scraps include: raw and cooked food, grains and breads, dairy, fruits and vegetables, meat/fish/bones, egg/seafood shells, and sauces and condiments.

Food-soiled paper products (without wax or plastic lining) include: used paper napkins/towel; food-soiled newsprint, paper bags, paper plates, and pizza boxes; coffee grinds/filters and tea bags; wooden chopsticks/popsicle sticks; and food-soiled takeout containers.

Residents can find a downloadable resource sheet What Gan Go In Your Organics Cart here and are reminded that only paper-based cart and kitchen bin liners are accepted. These can be made from newsprint or are available at retail stores.

“Initially, we had hoped to be able to accept compostable or biodegradable plastic bags, but during the course of our pilot program, the Province indicated it would be introducing a ban on these types of plastic bags from all composting facilities. This is largely due to the fact that unless these materials decompose in very specific conditions, they don’t fully break down and cause pollution in the form of microplastics in the environment,” explained Glen Farrow, the City’s Streets and Environmental Services Manager.

IMPORTANT CHANGES TO CURBSIDE COLLECTION FORMAT

With the introduction of organics collection and a third curbside cart, the solid waste collection format will be changing. Organics will be collected weekly, while garbage and recycling will be collected every other week on an alternating basis. That means each week, two of three carts should be at the curb on collection day—either organics and garbage or organics and recycling.

“During the pilot program, one of the main things we looked at was the possibility of moving to a biweekly schedule for garbage and recycling,” said Farrow. “We know that a about a third of household garbage is organic material, such as food scraps and soiled paper, so when that material goes into the organics cart instead of the garbage, you have much less garbage and the smelly stuff, such as decomposing food, still gets picked up every week.”

Farrow acknowledged that as a new program, it will take some getting used to.

“We’re very excited to finally introduce this program, which many other municipalities have had in place for years or decades. That said, we know as a new program that it will require some adjustments from our residents with curbside collection. However, the pilot program showed us that the majority of households can and did adjust well. We ask that residents hold off on any requests to upsize (or downsize) garbage or recycling carts (fees may apply) until November 1, 2023.”

PILOT PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

• Research from the pilot program showed that, on average, 8.3 kg of organic waste was collected each week from each pilot household and that the organic waste consisted of approximately 50% food scraps (and soiled paper waste), 48% yard waste, and 2% non-organic material.
• Food waste diversion increased significantly over the pilot program. Prior to the pilot, 6% of survey respondents stated that they diverted all of their food waste. By the end, 44% said they were diverting all of their food waste.
• Soiled paper waste diversion also increased. Prior to the pilot, 14% of respondents stated that they diverted most or all of their soiled paper waste. By the end, the figure was 65%.
• Residents who already compost at home indicated they found value in adding a curbside program for organic waste. When asked what types of organic waste home composters placed in their organics carts, a majority of these pilot program survey respondents indicated “food scraps I shouldn’t/can’t compost at home like meat, bones, oils, and cooked foods”; “food-soiled paper that shouldn’t go in recycling, like dirty napkins”, and “yard waste”.
• A majority of home composters who took the pilot program surveys supported the program. By the end of the pilot program, 93% of home composters placed their organics carts out at least once, with 73% of them having placed their carts out more than 10 times during the year-long pilot.

April 13, 2023 - Council adopted Solid Waste, Recyclables and Organics Amendment Bylaw No. 40-69, 2023, which implements identified opportunities to improve efficiency and expand the forthcoming organics program.

These changes include offering organics collection to commercial customers currently serviced through curbside collection and reducing organics collection frequency to biweekly during the coldest months of the year (December 1 to February 28) when there is significant reduction in organics. View the report to the Civic Operations committee from February 27, 2023, in the Document Library on this page, or link to the full committee report and attachments here.

February 14, 2023 - Engagement activities for Phase 2 of the Curbside Organic Waste Collection Program–Pilot Program–included a series of surveys at the beginning, middle, and end of the pilot program.

The intent of the surveys was to consult with residents on pilot routes; to gather feedback on what worked well and what might need improvement before a community-wide organics program is implemented; and to measure changes in attitudes and behaviours of pilot participants over the duration of the pilot program.

Survey #1 was open September 22 to October 29, 2021 and received 535 responses (a 24% overall response rate); survey #2 was open February 16 to March 14, 2022 and received 733 responses (a 33% overall response rate); and survey #3 was open September 9 to 30, 2022 and received 630 responses (a 28% overall response rate).

Below are some highlights from the Summary Report of Surveys #1 - #3

• A majority of respondents said they support organic waste collection (79% in the first survey and 78% in both the second and third surveys).
• A majority of respondents agreed with the statement “Reducing what goes in the landfill is the right thing to do” (90% in survey #1, 92% on survey #2, and 94% on survey #3).
• A majority of respondents participated regularly. By the end of the pilot program, 86% of respondents were participating regularly, with 72% placing their organics carts at the curb every week, and 14% putting their carts out most weeks. The participation rate for those who regularly used their cart was up from 78% on survey #2 (when 59% placed carts out every week and 19% placed carts out most weeks).
• A majority of home composters who took the surveys support the program. By the end of the pilot program, 93% of home composters placed their organics carts out at least once (up from 88% in survey #2), and 73% of the same group have placed their carts out more than 10 times.
• When asked as home composters what types of organic waste they are placing in their organics carts, a majority of these respondents selected the categories of “food scraps I shouldn’t/can’t compost at home like meat, bones, oils, and cooked foods”; “food-soiled paper that shouldn’t go in recycling, like dirty napkins”, and “yard waste”.
• Food waste diversion increased significantly over the pilot program duration. Prior to the pilot, 6% of respondents stated that they diverted all of their food waste; by the mid-point, this increased to 41%; and by the end, 44% said they were diverting all of their food waste.
• Soiled paper waste diversion also increased. Prior to the pilot, 14% of respondents stated that they diverted most or all of their soiled paper waste; by the mid-point, that number rose to 63%; by the end, the figure was 65%.
• A majority of respondents were not significantly impacted by biweekly garbage collection. 79% of respondents said biweekly garbage had an insignificant/no impact or a moderate impact, up from 77% on survey #2.
• A majority of respondents were not significantly impacted by biweekly recycling collection. 78% of respondents said biweekly recycling had an insignificant/no impact or a moderate impact, up from 73% on survey #2.
• By the end of the pilot program, 76% of respondents said their experience was excellent or good (up from 71% on survey #2). The top reason chosen for that was “I like that I’m not putting as much waste into the garbage”. The other 24% who indicated their experience as fair or poor cited biweekly garbage and recycling and inability to use compostable plastic liners during the pilot program as the top reasons.
  
  

Read the full Summary Report of Surveys #1-#3.

November 7, 2022 - There is a lot of confusion out there about plastic items that are labelled as biodegradable and compostable and whether they can or should go in the organics cart (e.g. compostable plastic bin liners). The labels imply that such items break down and disintegrate, but it’s more complicated than that. Consumers are not in the wrong to believe that, but the terms biodegradable and compostable are ambiguous.

So, what’s the deal?

Plastics that are certified as biodegradable or compostable will break down—but only under specific conditions, including a minimum period of time and when exposed to a certain minimum temperature.

The challenge is that not all composting facilities operate under these conditions. If they don’t, the plastics won’t break down properly and can end up contaminating the finished product and polluting the environment. They can also introduce microplastics and chemical additives into the soil as they break down.

In addition, use of the terms biodegradable and compostable is not regulated, which means that some of the products on the market labelled as such may not actually break down, even under the required specific conditions.

To address these challenges, the BC Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy is recommending the removal of biodegradable and compostable plastic from the list of acceptable materials in composting facilities in a forthcoming update to the provincial Organic Matter Recycling Regulation, scheduled for release in 2023.

In the meantime, anyone receiving curbside organic waste collection wanting to line their bin is asked to use paper-based liners only. Learn how to make your own from newsprint or use any paper-based liner, such as paper shopping bags, cereal/cracker boxes, parchment paper (not wax paper), or paper takeout boxes.

August 17, 2022 - Council has authorized a city-wide curbside residential organic waste collection program. This city-wide program, which expands on a year-long pilot program that is nearing completion, will see organic waste collection added to all 27,000 residential homes in Kamloops that currently receive curbside garbage and recycling collection. The community rollout is scheduled to start in mid to late 2023.

Glen Farrow, the City’s Streets and Environmental Services Manager, said the pilot program has provided an opportunity to test the program with a smaller group of residents across a handful of collection routes, before expanding the scope city wide.

“The community rollout represents phase 3 of the multi-phased approach that Council authorized in December 2020. First, we conducted extensive public engagement in phase 1 and then, in phase 2, we launched the pilot program in five select neighbourhoods,” explained Farrow.

“While we are still in the last part of the pilot, through our data collection and engagement with pilot residents to date, we are confident in understanding what we need to tweak for a successful community rollout,” he added, noting the reality of current supply chain challenges and inflation are also a factor in seeking Council’s authorization prior to the pilot program’s completion.

“We are seeing majority support for this program from the broader public and from the pilot program participants, so moving forward with Council approval right now will save us time and money from a supply chain and future costs perspective. For example, now that the city-wide program has been authorized, we can order the organics curbside bins, which will take about six months to arrive,” said Farrow.

The program will cost residents receiving curbside residential solid waste collection one dollar more per month on their utility bills. The initial capital start-up costs will be covered by current reserves and grant funding. The City has received a $1.78 million grant from the Province’s Clean BC Organic Infrastructure and Collection Program.

Research during the pilot program shows that, on average, 3.3 kg of organic waste is collected each week from each pilot household and that the organic waste consists of approximately 75% food scraps (and soiled paper waste) and 25% yard waste.

The city-wide residential organic waste collection program will see approximately 4,600 tonnes of organic waste diverted from the City’s landfills annually and is estimated to reduce community greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 9,500 tonnes per year (equivalent to removing 2,000 passenger vehicles from local roads for one year).

Next Steps

In September 2022, pilot program households will have the opportunity to share feedback in a third and final survey as the one-year pilot program wraps up. Feedback from the pilot program residents will continue to inform adjustments in planning for the launch of a community-wide program.

Once the pilot program has formally ended, curbside residential solid waste collection for households on the pilot program routes will remain the same as during the pilot program with alternating biweekly garbage and recycling collection and weekly organics collection.

City-wide implementation is anticipated to start in mid to late 2023. City staff will undertake a comprehensive communications and information campaign before the rollout to help prepare and educate residents who will be part of the city-wide curbside residential organic waste collection program.

May 4, 2022 - Seven months into the Curbside Organic Waste Collection Pilot Program, City staff are feeling optimistic about the success of a future community-wide organics program should Council approve an expanded program.

The pilot program began in September 2021, and since then, two surveys for residents on pilot routes have been administered. The mid-point survey, which was completed in March 2022, provided staff important indicators on the program’s progress, building on baseline data from the fall 2021 survey. Read the summary report from the mid-point survey here.

“It’s been really encouraging to see the support and engagement from residents in the pilot neighbourhoods in terms of participating in the program and providing feedback. We wanted to hear the good, bad and the ugly, and we have–and we thank the pilot residents because we need that range of feedback to adjust certain things and to move ahead successfully,” said Glen Farrow, the City’s Streets and Environmental Services Manager.

The second pilot survey, which had 200 more responses than the first survey, showed a continued majority support (77%) for organics collection. A majority of home composters (72%), as an individual segment, support the program.

Farrow presented a summary of the pilot program to date at the April 19 Civic Operations Committee meeting. He says a very encouraging statistic relates to the diversion rates that staff have been tracking.

“At the beginning of the pilot, when asked how much food waste their household diverted from the garbage, 36% said ‘none’ and 6% said they diverted all of their food waste. By the mid-point, that ratio had inverted—41% of respondents now said they diverted all of their food waste, and the number of people who diverted none was down to just 7%,” Farrow explained.

“I think it demonstrates that with a little effort, people can adapt to an organics program and that our residents are willing to do just that. Residents are excited to have a service that helps them further reduce their waste,” he said.

The Curbside Organic Waste Collection Pilot Program is in Phase 2 of a multi-year program that aims to reduce the amount of garbage sent to landfill and greenhouse gas emissions. Phase 1 included a feasibility study and waste audit that examined benefits of such a program, and Phase 3 expands on the pilot program to include 27,000 residential homes following completion of the pilot program.

To date, the City has received a $1.78 million grant from the Province’s Clean BC Organic Infrastructure and Collection Program to support the expanded community-wide residential organics collection starting in late 2023.

Pilot Survey No. 2 Highlights

• There were 733 survey respondents (198 more than the first survey in fall 2021).
• 77% of respondents said they support organic waste collection (consistent with 79% support indicated in the first survey).
• 92% of respondents agreed with the statements “Reducing what goes in the landfill is the right thing to do” and “Composting helps the environment”.
• 60% of respondents are placing their organics carts at the curb every week (19% place their cart out on most weeks; 14% place their cart out occasionally).
• 88% of home composters have placed their organics carts out at least once. When asked as home composters what they like best about the program, the top reason chosen was “I like using it for food scraps I shouldn’t/can’t compost at home like meat, bones, oils, and cooked foods”.
• Food waste diversion rates have increased significantly. Prior to the pilot program, 6% of respondents diverted all of their food waste, and by the mid-point, 41% said they diverted all food waste.
• Soiled paper waste diversion rates have also increased. Prior to the pilot program 14% diverted most or all of their soiled paper waste, and by the mid-point, that number rose to 63%.
• 71% of respondents said their experience has been excellent or good. The top reason chosen for that was “I like that I’m not putting as much waste into the garbage”. The other 29% who indicated their experience as fair or poor cited biweekly garbage and recycling and inability to use compostable plastic liners during the pilot program as the top reasons.
• 77% of respondents overall said biweekly garbage had an insignificant/no impact or a moderate impact. That reflects data from the first survey in which 78% of respondents said they were either somewhat concerned or not concerned.

Next Steps

During the April 19 Civic Operations Committee meeting, Farrow stated that the numbers across the board are very encouraging and indicate that our community overall can successfully adapt and that key learnings from the pilot program are providing staff with areas of focus for future planning.

“We’re hearing that people want to be able to use compostable plastic bin liners, so we would like to include that stipulation in our requirement for a long-term processor. We’re also proposing having an option for residents to upsize their recycling carts,” said Farrow, noting the collection frequency model still requires Council’s direction.

Council will hear another update at the June 7 Committee of the Whole meeting. Meanwhile, the pilot program continues until end of summer 2022.

December 7, 2021 - Three months into the Curbside Organic Waste Collection Pilot Program, City staff are pleased with the program’s progress.

Tracking data shows that a majority of residents on the pilot routes are participating in the program. Across the five pilot routes, 64% of households are setting out their organics carts each week, which is contributing to a significant reduction in garbage headed to the landfill.

An average of 2,300 kg of organic waste was collected daily from September 20 to December 3, totalling 120,500 kg of organic waste diverted from the landfill to date.

“We’ve had staff out monitoring, tracking, and documenting all three streams of waste—organics, garbage, and recycling. The participation rates and the amount of organics collected so far is very encouraging, and as a result, that waste is being diverted from the garbage stream,” said Marcia Dick, the City’s Solid Waste Reduction Coordinator.

“Through comparison of garbage weights over last year on our pilot routes, garbage weights are down 41% on average,” added Dick, who presented a summary of the program to-date at the December 6 Civic Operations Committee meeting.

The Curbside Organic Waste Collection Pilot Program is in Phase 2 of a multi-year program that aims to reduce the amount of garbage sent to landfill and greenhouse gas emissions. Phase 1 included a feasibility study and waste audit that examined benefits of such a program, and Phase 3 expands on the pilot program to include 27,000 residential homes following completion of the pilot.

The City has just received a $1.78 million grant from the Province’s Clean BC Organic Infrastructure and Collection Program to support the expanded community-wide residential organics collection starting in late 2023.

Pilot Survey Highlights
The City is gathering feedback from residents on pilot routes to learn what works well and what could be improved before community-wide implementation. Results from the first survey of pilot residents in fall 2021 indicate a strong level of support. Of the 535 survey respondents, 79% said they support organic waste collection.

The survey showed that top concerns include cart cleanliness/keeping the organics cart clean and the possibility of attracting fruit flies and rodents. Tracking the attitudes of home composters is also a key part of the pilot. Of the 39% of survey respondents that already compost at home, 73% said they support organic waste collection.

When it come to the shift to biweekly garbage and recycling collection, survey data showed that around half of respondents are not concerned.

"This is a key piece of data, as we anticipated the change in collection would be a challenge. The information is showing us that while biweekly collection is a concern for many households, households can adapt,” explained Dick.

“We do allow pilot residents to put excess material out for collection. So far, we haven’t seen a lot of extra garbage or recycling at the curb; about a dozen residents on a 500-household route put out excess material at the curb.”

Find the full survey report here or click in the Documents section of this web page.

Next Steps
Staff will continue monitoring how the pilot program is working and will continue engaging with pilot residents for their feedback. Staff will prepare another report in spring 2022 that will include an update on all aspects of the curbside residential organic waste collection program, including waste diversion data, public engagement information, pilot participation data, potential costs for community-wide implementation, and the results of all funding opportunities pursued to date.

October 12, 2021 - The Curbside Organic Waste Collection Pilot Program officially began on September 20 and in the first three weeks, 32,500 kg of organic waste was collected and diverted from the landfill.

“We are happy to see that so many residents started using the carts right away, and we hope to see more organics carts at the curb now that most residents on pilot routes are aware that the pilot has begun,” said Glen Farrow, the City’s Streets and Environmental Services Manager.

“As a pilot program, we are testing organic waste collection to learn what works well, what could be improved for a community-wide program, and the barriers to participation. The more people we have participating, the more data and feedback we can collect,” said Farrow.

All pilot residents, whether they are using the organics carts or not, are invited to take the first pilot program survey, open until October 29. Respondents can enter to win one of three $100 gift cards to Downtown Kamloops businesses.

Pilot residents are also encouraged to subscribe to monthly e-newsletter updates. Survey links will be shared through e-newsletters (or by mail), to subscribed participants only.

With the launch of the pilot and the changes to a familiar waste collection system, there have been several learning opportunities.

Biweekly Garbage and Recycling Collection
“The biggest change for the pilot residents is the shift to biweekly garbage and recycling collection. Organics carts are collected weekly, while garbage and recycling carts are now collected on an alternating biweekly basis,” said Farrow.

“Our research into other municipalities with organics programs showed other communities have successfully adapted to biweekly garbage collection. Approximately 42% of household trash can be composted as organic waste, so placing that waste into the organics cart means less garbage overall, and in turn that supports a shift to biweekly garbage collection.”

“Recycling collection varies in other communities. We are testing biweekly recycling collection because if it works, then we can minimize costs. We want to see if residents can adjust to biweekly recycling, but we know it will be a challenge for some households, especially with an increase in online shopping in recent years.”

Kitchen Bin Liners
Another challenge revolves around best practices in lining the kitchen organic waste bin. Bins should be lined with paper-based products like paper bags, cereal boxes, or folded newspaper to help keep them clean. Unfortunately, some commercial compost bin liners labelled as compostable or biodegradable do not break down in the composting facility.

“The composting facility we are currently using does not accept compostable or biodegradable plastic bag bin liners. These items take much longer to break down and leave behind small pieces of plastics, contaminating the finished compost product,” explained Farrow.

Wildlife Interactions
During the public engagement phase, the potential for wildlife interactions was expressed as a concern by many. Wildlife, including bears, are attracted to the smell of organic waste whether it is in a garbage cart, organics cart, backyard compost, a fruit tree, a BBQ, in bird feeders, or pet food left outdoors.

So far, the City has not received any reports from either pilot residents or conservation officers of bears related to organics carts on pilot routes. Residents are reminded to properly manage organic material on their property to reduce wildlife attractants.

Some tips to reduce attractants in waste include wrapping meat scraps and bones in newspaper or paper towel, consider freezing meat and fish scraps until collection day, and layering organics carts with dry material such as yard waste or newspaper.

Residents unsure if they are on a pilot route or not, can view the pilot routes map.