A green compost bin, grey garbage bin and blue recycling bin on a lane in Kamloops.

(SHANNON AINSLIE / iNFOnews.ca)

Green and grey carts are showing up on curbs at households across the city this week in the final phase of the curbside organic waste collection program, and while some residents are welcoming the new program, others are skeptical. 

The program was launched in 2020 and several neighbourhoods have already received the carts as part of a pilot program so the City can collect data and feedback. Along with the carts comes a small bin for the kitchen with compostable paper liners.

“The program is terrible and it stinks,” said Kamloops resident Joleen Giles ,who has been on the city’s pilot program for a year. “Thought they were worried about being bear aware, yet now they want millions of bins full of raw, rotten food,” she said. “Not to mention the stench on hot days and the amount of maggots.”

Residents with the compost carts have had garbage and recycling collection moved to alternating bi-weekly pickup. The carts are currently being delivered to the 27,000 households that already receive garbage and recycling pickup. The compost collection at those homes starts on Aug. 21.

Giles has a family of nine and said they’ve been doing regular dump runs since garbage pickup moved from weekly to every two weeks and eventually had to get a second bin.

“I’m now charged for four bins and still having to pay to have stuff hauled to the dump because it builds up. If you miss one week then you are waiting for four weeks for garbage, absolutely brutal.”

Giles said she’s talked to others on the pilot program and the overwhelming majority don’t want it.

There are concerns the compost bins will be attractants for wildlife and rodents, that large families will be unable to cope with the less frequent garbage and recycling collection, and that there wasn’t enough public consultation for the program. There are farmers who already have composting systems in place that don’t need the extra bins.

Solid waste reduction coordinator with the City, Marcia Dick, has been responding to public concerns this week but said she is receiving fewer complaints than she expected.

She said the compost bins are not going to attract wildlife any more than garbage bins.

“We’re asking residents to put those same attractants into a different bin and use the same protective measures they do with their garbage bin,” she said. “We haven’t provided bear resistant carts yet, we’re testing them on a pilot route and once finished will have more information.”

Dick said the pilot program has tested 2,500 homes and there “hasn’t been a significant number of people upsizing their carts.”

“Households of ten plus maybe need a bigger can but it generally works for most,” she said. “A lot of the waste that goes into the garbage bin can go into the compost bin, increasing space.”

She said farmers and those living on acreages already managing composting themselves may still find the bins beneficial and many were part of the pilot program. For some farmers the program was not a good fit, but they are on city routes.

“We are not requiring everyone to participate but for those who can’t compost everything this will help,” she said. “Most of the farmers supported us and the majority are using the bins on a regular basis for things like meats, cheeses and paper plates. It’s for the greater good so that everyone can compost.” 

The smaller kitchen bins come with a handful of biodegradable paper liners, and residents are tasked with purchasing them going forward. Dick said during the pilot, participants were putting raw organics into the bins and discovered it was making a big mess, so bags were sourced that the processing facility will allow them. The bags are available for purchase at most major grocery outlets and online.

When asked whether there was public consultation for the program, Dick said there was a significant amount of public engagement in the beginning, in 2020.

“We had a big survey that went out and advertised it through media, mailed information to households, put it in local newspapers and announced it on the radio to give everyone a chance to weigh in. Eighty per cent who participated in the survey wanted the program.”

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The point of the program is to help residents divert waste from the landfill in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that come from organic waste buried in landfills.

“We’re not doing this to upset people, we certainly understand it’s a change, we’re asking people to be patient and give it a shot,” Dick said. “Look up the information we provided. It’s about protecting the life of the landfill, creating jobs and reducing impacts on climate change.” 

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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 according the City's website. The program costs residents $1 per month and will be reflected as a $3 charge on their quarterly utility bill, starting Jan. 2024.

Go here for more information on the curbside organic waste collection program. 

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