50% Less Garbage Going To Landfill
Nanaimo residents cut waste
sent to landfill by half
By participating in the green bin food and kitchen waste
program, Nanaimo householders are now sending almost 50 per cent less garbage to
the landfill than a year ago.
In October, the first full month with all City-serviced
properties receiving green bin service, participating households sent 310 tonnes
of food waste to the ICC Group Duke Point composting facility.
“Thanks to the efforts of the community, 70 per cent of what
was once garbage is now recycled into new materials or compost,” said Nanaimo
Mayor John Ruttan. “Using the green bin has meant some extra work for households
but the rewards make those efforts worthwhile. We’re turning food waste into a
beneficial product that improves soils, conserves landfill space, reduces
greenhouse gas emissions and creates sustainable local
employment.”
The Green Bin Program impact is region-wide and goes beyond
reducing household waste going to the landfill. Since 2005, Regional District of
Nanaimo businesses and organizations involved in food services have been
collecting their food waste for composting.
By familiarizing residents with food and food soiled paper
products accepted at the composting facility, the Green Bin Program enabled
Woodgrove Centre to introduce organic waste collection bins at its Food Court.
Other businesses and institutions with public food service areas will provide
similar organics collection bins, further increasing the City’s waste
diversion.
Nanaimo has been a leader in recycling and waste reduction
since 1987, when the City formally launched curbside recyclables collection.
“The City and the RDN now lead the country with one of the lowest waste disposal
and the highest waste diversion rates of any municipality in Canada,” Ruttan
said.
The Green Bin Program was introduced without significantly
affecting collection user rates. In 2011, green bin, recycling and garbage
collection user rates were $114 per year, one of the lowest rates in
BC.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Your comment will appear after moderation before publishing,
Thank you for your comments.Any comment that could be considered slanderous or includes unacceptable language will be removed.
Thank you for participating and making your opinions known.
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.