Town’s organics program shows impressive results

By Miriam Ostermann, Associate Editor

Considerable participation over the last month in the residential curbside organics program diverted nearly a quarter of a million pounds of compostable materials from the landfill and funneled thousands of dollars back into Strathmore’s pockets.
Roughly 90 per cent of Strathmore residents participated in the Town of Strathmore’s program that seeks to reduce the amount of landfill and lessen environmental impact.
The green carts hit the streets on June 4 and throughout the month collected 113 tonnes of organic waste materials, or 249,000 lbs, making up 38 per cent of the town’s overall waste.
Strathmore’s statistics are on par with Environment Canada that states up to 40 per cent of identified organic waste materials make up residential waste, and thus contribute to the release of greenhouse gases and pollution that can leak into the ecosystem.
In 2016, council approved a three-year pilot project in partnership with then H&H Huxted – now Waste Management – that led to the creation of the three-acre Class 1 composting site and motivated the institution of the residential curbside organics program.
“I was shocked… I didn’t think everybody would buy in that fast, but it’s a growing thing in Canada and the United States and it’s widespread and worldwide, where composting in the next big thing,” said Cody Huxted, operations manager with Waste Management. “You look at the landfill, in that one month, the amount that we kept out of the landfill in itself… and now it’s a product that can be used for agriculture or garden, so I guess it’s a major benefit.”
Last June a total of 286.06 tonnes of waste and organics was collected within Strathmore. With 113.58 tonnes of organics removed during the same month this year, the town was left with 187.62 tonnes, or 413,631 lbs, of waste for a total of 301.20 tonnes overall.
“The residential organics collection program has contributed greatly to reduce the amount of waste going to landfills,” said Strathmore Mayor Pat Fule. “In fact, in the first few days, 16 tonnes of compostable material was collected from Strathmore’s green bins.”
The residential curbside organics program is part of the overall waste management contract with Waste Management that works in conjunction with the black cart garbage collection service.
Having envisioned the expansion of the composting site over the years, Huxted said the additional tonnage did not affect the site substantially thus far, and explained the space is available to increase the site in the future.
Despite its infancy, the program is expected to grow by bringing local and commercial businesses on board – some that have already started participating. According to Huxted, Waste Management will continue to provide education in schools and increase the amount of tours of the facility.
“We’re kind of ahead of a lot of areas, and it seems like I’ve talked all day, every day, about composting for the last three years; education is the big thing,” said Huxted.
“We wanted Strathmore to be a leader. To him (Colin Huxted) it’s a pretty big thing. We had a lot of hours and a lot of time invested into getting Strathmore to this level, and I’m proud of it.”
The Town of Strathmore rolled out the 240 litre (L) black carts in January, and later supplied those residents with a 120 L green cart and kitchen catcher for a cost of $225,897. Residents can upgrade their current green cart with the town for a 240 L green cart at no additional cost.