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February 05, 2021 - 8:00 PM
Phase one of development of a residential organics collection program in Kamloops is underway: the gathering of public input.
The city has launched a Curbside Organic Waste Collection page on it's Let’s Talk engagement website.
Residents are encouraged to participate in a poll, read FAQs about organic waste, and ask questions. Another survey will be launched this spring to evaluate residents' support of the project and their concerns.
However it remains unclear how much the program may cost each household. According to a city news release, "Individual cost per household will be determined based on the outcomes of the first two project phases as well as any grant funding."
City staff say they have applied for grant funding from CleanBC and the Green Municipal Fund which will potentially cover half of the projected $6.5 million cost of all three phases. But they also say the new program is worth the expense.
“Audits of residential garbage show that around 38% of our trash is organic material that can be composted,” Marcia Dick, the City’s Solid Waste Services Analyst, said in a news release.
The city also estimates the program will reduce Kamloops' carbon dioxide emissions by about 2,800 tonnes per year (equal to removing about 600 passenger vehicles) and save $1 million annually in costs related to landfill capacity.
Phase 2 of development is planned for fall 2021 and includes a pilot program in select neighbourhoods. The final phase would see organics collection for all single-family and multi-family households on curbside collection routes. The city adds the timing of phases 2 and 3 are dependent on successful grant funding.
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