Grass isn’t the only green popping up along Lethbridge, Alta., streets.
Around 32,000 green carts are being delivered to homes throughout Lethbridge in advance of curbside organics collection.
“(We) anticipate to have those out by May 12 and collection start May 16,” said James Nicholls, City of Lethbridge waste utility and environment collections manager.
Green cart pickup will alternate days with blue and black cart collection. For example, if your blue and black cart is emptied Tuesday, your green cart is collected on Wednesdays.
Collection will operate weekly from May to October, switching to a bi-weekly schedule between November and April.
Single-family homes will see a monthly charge of $5 added to their utility bill for the program.
Yard waste, kitchen scraps, shredded paper and food-soiled paper products can go into the green carts.
According to city officials, organics accounted for around 30 per cent of all waste collected during the program’s first phase, tested on roughly 1,900 homes.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to decrease the amount of material that’s going into the landfill and making it into something that can become a bit more circular. Something we can actually bring back and produce compost that can go back into the community,” Nicholls said.
The move is being applauded by environmental advocates.
“That will obviously free up space in the landfill,” said Environment Lethbridge executive director Kathleen Sheppard. “It also has a positive impact on reducing carbon emissions because organics release methane when they’re in landfills, so overall the environmental benefits are really great.”
Other municipalities have already implemented the strategy.
Officials with both the town of Coaldale and city of Red Deer say those municipalities’ organics collection is meeting expectations.
“We had set a target in our waste management master plan of reducing the garbage we pick up from single-family households to 400 kilograms per household per year,” said Janet Whitesell, waste management superintendent for the city of Red Deer.
“Since the carts have been fully rolled out since 2019, we’ve basically been achieving that target every year.”
“We’ve had a 30-per cent reduction in waste that goes into a landfill,” said Justin MacPherson, Coaldale director of operational services. “We’ve had a lot of great feedback from residents about having green bins on-site.”
The Lethbridge program will expand to multi-family residences next spring, with the city beginning property analysis in the fall. Residents in those facilities will be charge $4 a month.
Full dos and don’ts of the green carts can be found using the waste wizard on the Lethbridge Loop app or on the city’s website.