Six month review of waste changes shows 124 per cent increase in green bin
Waterloo Region – In the first six months since the new waste services launched last March, we have seen significant impacts to our programs:
- Green bin organic tonnage collected curbside has increased 124 per cent
- Blue box recycling tonnage collected curbside has increased 13 per cent
- Yard waste tonnage collected curbside has increased 11 per cent
- Garbage tonnage collected curbside has decreased 22 per cent
Other waste milestones have also been achieved. By July, the fifth month of the changes, more tonnes of green bin material had been collected than all of the previous year. With the increased volume of blue box materials, a second shift was added to the sorting line at the Nyle Ludolph Materials Sorting Centre.
The effort of sorting out recyclable materials from garbage and into the blue box and green bin really does make a difference. “This success belongs to our residents,” said Jon Arsenault, Director of Waste Management. “Similar to when the very first blue box program was launched here in the 1980s, our residents passionately and whole-heartedly embraced waste reduction with recycling. We thank our residents for all their efforts and look forward to what the next six months will bring."
More information on the waste review is in Environews, delivered this week with Region News in your weekly community paper or flyer package. You can also read it online at www.regionofwaterloo.ca/waste.
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For more information, contact:
Cari Rastas Howard
Project Manager, Waste Management
519-505-1517