A boost in composting is expected as Greater Sudbury moves toward a one-garbage per week limit in October, members of the operations committee were told Monday.
Renee Brownlee, the city's manager of collection and recycling, told the committee that when recycling blue boxes were introduced in 1990, the public didn't like the idea and usage rates were low.
“There was a negative attitude about it,” Brownlee said.
Today, 91 per cent of people recycle and would find it difficult to suddenly throw everything in the garbage again.
Similarly, only 27 per cent of people in Greater Sudbury use the compost green bins, a figure expected to increase once the new bag limit is in effect Oct. 1.
Greater Sudbury will be joining several other cities — including Kingston, Hamilton, Brockville, Simcoe and Belleville – in going to the one-bag limit, she said. And since the two-bag limit began in 2016, 65 per cent of residents are now down to one bag a week already.
“So we have taken baby steps ... leading residents in the right direction,” Brownlee said.
In response to a question from Ward 10 Coun. Fern Cormier, she said IT staff are working to ensure people can buy bag tags online, which can be attached to garbage to allow residents to exceed the limit. Residents will be able to order and pay for them online, and the bag tags will be mailed.
“Staff are currently working on a system with our IT department to make that possible,” Brownlee said, adding it should be in place by September.
“We are also working with our libraries,” she said, to have the tags in stock, especially in outlying communities.
Ward 12 Coun. Joscelyne Landry-Altmann wondered about covers for blue boxes. Some people have been having trouble with used needles being dropped in their blue boxes. That leads to a warning from the city that their recycling service could be suspended.
“We have a needle problem,” Landry-Altmann said.
Brownlee said discarded needles are dangerous to staff, and said residents are warned when needles are mixed in with recycling.
“When we find needles in the blue box or garbage, we put them on notice,” she said. “That's for the safety of our staff. We don't know how the needles go there.”
An alternative is the big blue recycling bins, which come with a lid and are being sold at the subsidized price of $10 each, she said.
Support programs are in place for young families and people with medical issues, she said, and people can still bring as much as 50 kg to their local landfill free of charge each week.
Ward 9 Coun. Deb McIntosh asked how much it would cost to send everyone 10 free bag tags as part of the mailout information alerting residents to the change.
Brownlee said it would cost about $30,000.
“That's a small price to pay,” McIntosh said.
