The Corporation’s garbage diversion program is celebrating a small improvement in reducing overall waste headed for landfills, but a staff report to council Monday shows it has a long way to go.
Since starting the Green Can program last April there has been an eight per cent reduction in garbage and a 25 per cent increase in green waste, according to the report.
This amounts to an overall increase in residential waste diversion of five per cent.
On Nov. 8, 2010, Delta endorsed the Metro Vancouver target of increasing residential waste diversion by 65 per cent by 2015, which means the municipality has two more years to make up the rest to meet targets.
Staff will now undertake a door-to-door outreach in areas with poor participation rates. As well, the Corporation wants to introduce a Green Can workshop in Delta elementary schools.
To encourage mattress recycling, the Corporation is undertaking a Free Mattress Voucher Recycling program which allows residents to take two mattresses to the landfill at no charge, a $30 value.
The Corporation has also been experimenting with food waste diversion with its employees. Since the Civic Facility Food Waste pilot project began at municipal hall, over 500 kilograms of food waste and food soiled paper has been diverted in the first four months of 2013.
Coun. Jeannie Kanakos suggested Delta would have better participation rates if they followed the example of other municipalities and provided all residents with green bins.
But engineering director Steven Lan said the Corporation provides residents with stickers that can make any waste bin a green can.
“So you can utilize an existing garbage can that you have, so it’s a means of reducing the amount of new cans that might be required so we can reuse what we have,” he said.
Lan said engineering will be doing a waste audit this year to identify exactly what is being left in the waste stream that could be better diverted.
Accepted:
• Grass clippings• Leaves, flowers, plants• Prunings under 15cm in diameter• Other yard and garden organic material
Not accepted:
• Animal excrement• Non-organic material such as metal, plastic, nylon, styrofoam, flower pots• Painted or treated wood• Prunings over 15cm in diameter• Rocks, dirt, sod, stumps, tree limbs