Council unanimously approved a request from staff to move forward with implementing recycling at multi-family residences at its regular meeting March 7.
Council previously approved the addition of multi-family units to the City’s recycling program using private collection services Nov. 16, 2015, and directed staff to come back with details regarding how the program would work.
Susan Grimm, team leader Waste and Recycling Services at the City, said the program requires the owners of multi-family units to provide residents with a number of things – including on-site storage for recyclables and separate containers for recyclables, and must be able to prove that material is being recycled rather than sent to the landfill.
Multi-family dwellings are defined by the City as any dwelling that currently does not receive curbside garbage collection and includes apartments, some condominium buildings and some townhomes. There are more than 4,300 multi-family households in Airdrie, making up approximately 20 per cent of all households in the city.
Mayor Peter Brown asked how the program was envisioned to work within the city and for new and existing buildings.
“We’ve chosen to model this strategy very much after the City of Calgary,” Grimm said. “New developments, by law and through the planning process, are required to ensure there is space to accommodate future recycling bins or whatever that looks like.”
He said recycling collection could take place in the same space designated for waste collection because the expected waste would likely be cut in half with the remainder going to recycling facilities.
Grimm said small multi-family units may choose to continue to use the depots.
Council also approved making an adjustment to the 2016 Operating Budget of $100,000 to come from Waste and Recycling Reserves for a limited term employee to implement the program as well as for advertising costs.
The City is implementing blue bin recycling for all residents after giving approval to move ahead with curbside recycling for single-family dwellings in September 2015.
Waste from Airdrie is disposed of in the City of Calgary’s landfills, which has a basic sanitary rate for residential garbage and approximately 100 items on a designated materials list. Items on the designated materials list are charged at a higher disposal rate. In 2018, paper and cardboard will be added to that list followed by organics in 2019.
The disposal fee for basic residential waste rose from $110 per tonne in 2015 to $113 per tonne in 2016. Items on the designated materials list are charged a $170 per tonne disposal fee. This increase, according to Grimm, is a large reason why the City has chosen to implement mandatory curbside recycling for both single- and multi-family residences.
Beginning in May, Grimm said staff will work with recycling service providers, building owners, managers and residents to build awareness and understanding of the bylaw. The bylaw will be fully in force by May 2017 and anyone not adhering to the rules may be charged.
