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Kamloops  

City council approves curbside organics collection; rollout aimed for late 2023

Organics collection gets OK

The City of Kamloops will be rolling out city-wide curbside organics collection next year after council voted to approve the bylaw changes necessary to authorize the program.

The bylaw amendments — including definitions, regulations and fee schedules — were officially adopted by mayor and councillors during Tuesday’s council meeting.

According to the city, the program will see organic waste collection added to about 27,000 residences in Kamloops that currently receive curbside garbage and recycling collection.

Community rollout is planned for mid to late 2023, but homes that have been part of the city’s year-long organics collection pilot program will continue to receive the service.

Residents can expect for their garbage and recycling to be picked up biweekly, while organics will be collected each week.

Glen Farrow, the city’s streets and environmental services manager, said in a statement that the pilot program is still in its final stages, but the city is confident it understands what is needed for a successful rollout.

“We are seeing majority support for this program from the broader public and from the pilot program participants, so moving forward with council approval right now will save us time and money from a supply chain and future costs perspective,” Farrow said.

“For example, now that the city-wide program has been authorized, we can order the organics curbside bins, which will take about six months to arrive.”

Farrow told Castanet pilot participants will be able to share feedback through a final survey sent out in September.

Residents on the pilot routes, who will continue a weekly organics and biweekly garbage and recycling collection schedule, will also have the opportunity to choose the appropriate cart sizes for their household.

“Over the past year, we've allowed them to put out extra garbage or recycling at the curb and we've picked it up — like beyond what was in the cart. Those days are going to end here at some point, and we want to ensure they have the appropriate cart size,” Farrow said.

The city received a $1.78 million grant to cover part of the capital costs associated with implementing organics collection, and will pitch in $2.2 million from its solid waste reserves to cover the balance of the total $4 million needed.

The city’s solid waste program — covering organics, recycling and garbage collection — will see a $600,000 uptick in annual operating costs.

That will be covered by a new $12 per year utility fee for organics waste collection — $1 per month per household — and a $70 increased cost for households using the largest size of garbage container.

In a June council meeting, Farrow said the operating cost increase will also be offset by about $420,000 in annual savings made through conserving landfill space.

A larger size of recycling container will also be available for $20 more per year for residents who find they need more cart space after a move to biweekly collection.

“Historically, we've only offered 245-litre carts for recycling, for every single family dwelling across the whole city. With this, we're realizing that certain residents will need additional capacity, because recycling will be every other week rather than weekly,” Farrow said.

Farrow said some residents along the pilot routes initially refused the organics carts, but later changed their minds — something he suspects may happen with next year’s rollout.

“A lot of those people who refused it have now called back and said they want it, because the reality is, they aren't able to make it two weeks with their garbage because they haven't diverted their organics from it,” Farrow said.

“Initially, you might not want it. But if you once you understand the full scope what we're trying to do here, you'll call us up and get it back.”

Data collected from the city’s organics curbside pickup pilot showed about 43 per cent of household waste was able to be diverted from the landfill.

More than three kilograms of organic waste was collected each week from each pilot household, consisting of 75 per cent food scraps and 25 per cent yard waste.

Data collected from pilot participants showed about 77 per cent of survey respondents supported curbside organics collection, while 12 per cent are neutral and 11 per cent didn’t support it.



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