Alderman seeks to extend Calgary’s recycling effort to organics

A Calgary alderman wants answers on how the city can expand its recycling program to include organic waste.

Ward 7 alderman Druh Farrell, in a notice of motion to be brought to city council Monday, is also seeking details on how curbside recycling can be brought to multi-family housing units.

Apartments and townhouses currently can’t participate in the blue cart program.

Farrell has set a February deadline for a full report from city administration on how the city can meet these goals as it aims to divert 80 per cent of waste away from landfills by 2020.

"We need to move quickly in order to meet our goals," said Farrell. "Curbside recycling is well accepted and successful and now we need to take the next steps."

For Farrell, this means organics should be next on the list for recycling. "I think this makes sense because it’s the largest amount going to the landfill and something we wish to address," added Farrell.

Dave Griffiths, the city’s director of waste and recycling services, said more than 30 per cent of garbage going to dumps consists of plant and food matter tossed from 300,000 Calgary homes.

He noted the alderman’s motion comes at a good time as the blue cart curbside program has been running for a full year.

"This is also going to help us gauge if we’re missing anything with the blue carts," said Griffiths. "For us it’s a work in progress as we move forward with our goal of achieving 80/20."

In the first nine months of the year the blue cart program was handling 25 per cent of household waste, missing the mark of 28 per cent set for the first full year of the curbside program.

Christina Seidel, executive director of the Recycling Council of Alberta, said Calgary’s expansion plans won’t be easy.

"People need to be trained how to do it," said Seidel. "Calgary did an excellent, excellent job with educating people for the recycling program and it would be a similar job for organics."

Calgary is lagging, though, as Edmonton and Strathcona County are already recycling organics. Seidel said it’s becoming the norm across Canada.

"The most important thing is organic material is collected separately," said Seidel. "The city can use it in parks or any place you use soil to add valuable nutrients."

Bringing recycling collection to multi-family buildings is also high on Farrell’s agenda. Right now residents in these homes either have to drop their recyclables off at city depots or hire private companies to deal with the waste, which raises another problem, according to Farrell.

"A lot of recycling companies picking up recycling from multi-families are dumping it in the city drop-off bins," said the alderman. "They’re charging for the pickup, but the city is charged for the recycling."

Griffiths said the practice is being looked into. He added there aren’t many options for private companies dealing with recycling.

"The key is to get them access to the processing centres," explained Griffiths. "But right now it’s difficult to access the central (city) plant."