The City of Chestermere is shining a light on Waste Reduction Week in Canada from October 19 to 25, 2020. The City will participate in this week-long national awareness campaign by sharing tips on what residents can do to reduce their environmental footprints.
Green Organics Cart Audits
In conjunction with Waste Reduction Week, the City plans to kick off a waste auditing campaign. Currently, the biggest issue found in green carts is non-compostable bags. Many residents are still using regular grocery and non-compostable bags, which don't break down, cause delays in processing time, and cost the City more money.
"Our compost processor is concerned by the number of plastic bags they are seeing. During processing, these bags cause delays," says Cameron Wong, Manager of Environmental Services for the City of Chestermere. "While waiting for sorting, these bags don't break down. They can be picked up by high winds and become litter in neighbouring properties, including farmland, which causes bigger issues long term."
In the coming weeks, auditors will be out on collection days, lifting the lids of green carts and tagging bins with prohibited contents like plastic bags. Carts with non-compostable materials in them will not be collected.
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