The city is hoping organic waste will soon be able to be picked up curb side, but first a place to compost it needs to be found.
(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)
May 07, 2014 - 9:39 AM
KAMLOOPS - If there was somewhere to compost it the city could be offering curb side organic pickup as soon as tomorrow.
“We could start pickup tomorrow, but we have nowhere to bring it,” Public Works Director Jen Fretz says. “That’s the problem, there is nowhere we can bring it.”
The city is currently only licensed to compost yard waste and an enclosed space would likely be required to accommodate the type of compost Fretz is talking about — diapers, food scraps and bones. Preliminary (rough) data shows about 15 per cent of the waste at the landfill is organic, and could be diverted if there was somewhere to divert it too.
The city has been on a mission to divert products going to the landfill by 40 per cent. By combining the current diversion rate of 30 per cent with a compost program, the mark could be reached by the 2015 goal.
Staff are now waiting on a consultant to finish up a report that will outline what the best options are for organic and biosolids collection, which could include an option for waste from the wastewater treatment plant as well.
The 13 trucks already used by the city, which each service about 500 homes per day, would easily accommodate organic pickup as well.
“It would be easy to collect it,” Environmental Services Supervisor Glen Farrow affirms, “the option is there for us to collect it.”
Staff will also recommend higher tipping fees for the landfill in the near future, another way to hopefully reduce the amount of unnecessary waste heading to the dump. A focus on diverting more construction waste will also continue, though the diversion of wood, concrete and asphalt at the landfill improved in the past couple years.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Jennifer Stahn at jstahn@infotelnews.ca or call 250-819-3723. To contact an editor, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2014