As part of efforts to achieve a long-term goal of 75% waste diversion from the local landfill, Northumberland County Council has approved updates to residential waste collection services, to take effect in the fall of 2019. These updates include the introduction of a new weekly ‘green bin’ organics collection program, and the transition to a dual-stream recycling program that will replace the current one-stream program. These waste collection improvements are part of the County’s Long Term Waste Management Master Plan, released in 2014.
“The contents of the average household garbage bag are 60% organic waste,” states County Director of Transportation and Waste Mo Pannu. “With the
introduction of this green bin program, and a corresponding change in the weekly garbage collection limit to two bags per household, we anticipate di-verting a minimum of 3000 tonnes of waste annually from our landfill, ultimate-ly expanding its lifespan.”
In addition to the green bin program, the current one-stream recycling pro-gram will be transitioned into a dual-stream program that allows for the sepa-ration of paper materials from household containers. This program will require residents to sort their recyclables, placing household containers including plastic bottles, cans and cartons in a blue bin and paper materials in a grey bin. The separation of these products at the collection stage minimizes con-tamination, allowing for more efficient sorting and the production of higher quality recyclable material for resale.
“This is an important and highly-anticipated next step in the roll-out of our Long-Term Waste Management Master Plan,” explains County Warden Mark Lovshin. “With a mission to be a best practices leader, Northumberland Coun-ty continues to explore innovative approaches to the way we manage our waste in order to increase diversion and foster improved sustainability for our community.”
The dual-stream recycling and green bin programs will be implemented in September 2019 and will follow the regular garbage and recycling collection schedule. The green, grey and blue bins used for the programs will be deliv-ered to residents by Northumberland County in the summer of 2019; however, if residents wish to use their own bins, they may purchase a bin and properly identify the materials with a label.
To learn more about the Long Term Waste Management Master Plan, please visit: http://northumberlandcounty.ca/WasteMasterPlan.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
