The public’s feedback is being sought on municipal waste management, as the city drafts its Sustainable Waste Strategy.
The master plan will “explore options to achieve the city’s waste management goals and objectives for the next 10 years,” according to a media release by the city.
“The goal of this strategy is to guide decision making for future waste management programs and services with a focus on diverting and reducing waste, optimizing landfill space, achieving climate change goals and operating efficiently.”
The online survey is available at overtoyou.greatersudbury.ca, and will be accessible until the end of the day on Feb. 24. It is billed as the first of several opportunities to provide feedback on the city’s waste management system.
The Sustainable Waste Strategy is expected to inform the city of options to advance its environmental sustainability performance while providing quality service and working toward its Community Energy and Emissions Plan goal of 90 per cent solid waste diversion by 2050.
The plan comes as a result of a unanimous city council declaring a climate emergency in 2019.
The city has eased toward less-frequent garbage collection in recent years, and by February 2021 reached two bags/cans/bundles of curbside garbage pickup every other week, with each unit limited to 40 pounds.
The program showed early signs of success by mid-2021, when the city recorded increases in blue box recycling and green cart organics volumes.
The Sudbury Landfill Site’s projected lifespan 25 years ago was 25 years, and it still is thanks to waste diversion efforts.
Meanwhile, the city is also phasing out single-use plastic water bottles and generating electricity from the Sudbury Landfill Site’s garbage gasses.
