Steinbach’s Solid Waste department head Eldon Wallman and Canadian Tire manager Reynold Kroeker display paper yard waste bags.
The City of Steinbach is introducing a new curbside organic waste pick-up pilot program. This spring, residents on “Day 4” of the garbage schedule will be able to put organic waste on the curb along with their garbage and recyclables. Historically the area with the largest volume of organics, “Day 4” area was the obvious choice to trial the new program. This is the first step in what is anticipated to become City wide residential curbside organic waste pick-up in 2014.
“This is a convenient program that helps divert organic waste from our landfill and increases its longevity,” says Eldon Wallman, Department Head for the City’s Solid Waste department. “This is material that should never be introduced into our landfill waste stream, we want to separate it and recycle it into something the community can use.”
Over time the collected organic waste, which is rich in nutrients, will produce mass quantities of rich compost that is available to residents. The finished compost is usually ready at the City of Steinbach Landfill around the end of May or beginning of June. This year’s compost pile is expected to be significantly larger as a result of the new organic waste collection program.
Residents in the pilot area that wish to participate are asked to use paper yard waste bags, available for purchase locally at Steinbach Canadian Tire. They come in various sizes to accommodate large quantities of grass and yard waste to smaller kitchen waste.
“We encourage residents to separate their organic waste into the paper yard waste bags,” says Wallman, “This is important because they are designed to hold organic waste materials and they are easily identifiable by our Solid Waste staff.” Wallman also asks residents to take note of what can and cannot be composted.
A complete list can be found on the City’s website.
Residents not included in the pilot area can still participate by dropping off their organic waste at the Steinbach Landfill at 104 Hanover Road E.
Starting around the third week in May and running until fall, the program could potentially divert 25-30% of organic waste currently entering the landfill.
