Survey results to come in New Year – Langdon curbside recycling

Times Contributor  

 

Rocky View County’s Agriculture and Environment Services completed an extensive survey Dec. 10 regarding possible curbside recycling in Langdon.

Cole Nelson, Manager of Agriculture and Environment Services, gave credit for much of the work to Joanne Walroth, Solid Waste and Recycling Officer. 

“She’s been instrumental in … the recent dialogue with the residents of Langdon,” he said, “and the opportunities to expand their curbside programming.”

Walroth said that, with the assistance of a consultant, they gathered input from as many residents as possible. They advertised the survey broadly, engaging in discussions on social media, and going wherever people gathered — parent-teacher association meetings, seniors’ recreation activities, hockey tournament, even door-to-door. They encouraged people to complete the online survey, and sometimes provided technical support to complete it on-site. On Nov. 29, they hosted a community meeting, inviting residents to discuss questions, concerns and solutions.

Walroth said she enjoyed meeting the residents of Langdon, but her goal, and the goal of council, was to hear from residents – whether or not they want curbside recycling, and, if they do, what kind of program they’d like.

The survey presented three main options. Option 1 was to continue with recycling only at the current transfer site. Option 2 was for residents to have one recycling cart, and option 3 was to add two recycling carts – one for organic waste (ie. grass, leaves) and one for general recycling. In every option, the current transfer site would also remain open.

Residents’ most frequently voiced concern was the cost of recycling carts. Some people also wondered why, since they’d pay for recycling, garbage costs wouldn’t decrease. Others wondered about carts blowing away and what Walroth called the “ick factor” – smells from organic waste.

However, in conversations with residents, Walroth found most Langdon residents are “on board” with potential curbside recycling, for the same reasons council likes the idea. 

It would be convenient for residents to recycle more, thereby reducing the garbage hauled to landfills and the overall cost of hauling it. Walroth explained that the cost of transporting garbage increases annually, but, by reducing the garbage hauled, council hopes to maintain residents’ garbage fees – rather than increasing them. She emphasized that council doesn’t make money from recycling; they charge residents only what the program costs.

Walroth also pointed out that more recycling and less garbage is a more sustainable lifestyle, since creating new landfills is no longer permitted in Alberta. But, she said, “The real environmental benefit comes from not doing resource extraction.” When materials are recycled, fewer new materials need to be created and mined, Walroth said, and that’s where “huge emission reductions come in. The more recycled content you can use, (the less) you’re …having to dig for virgin materials.”

Walroth and her team will receive the survey results in January, and will present the findings to Rocky View Council then publicly announce Council’s decision. Any changes to the recycling program would likely take effect in 2014.