One of the biggest-ticket items on the agenda at this week's Airdrie City council meeting was a presentation from the Waste and Recycling team about the possible implementation of a black bin automated garbage collection service in Airdrie. With Earth Day around the corner, the City's waste collection program seemed like a fitting discussion for council.
According to that presentation, a survey last year indicated the bulk of respondents expressed interest in a black bin program being implemented in Airdrie. This was despite these respondents being unprompted, meaning the questions on the survey didn't specifically mention a black bin program.
Garbage pick-up has historically been somewhat of a hot topic in Airdrie in years past. Airdrie's current system of leaving out garbage bags curbside is fairly unconventional and old-fashioned. Most municipalities of a similar size offer automated curbside collection programs (i.e., black bins). These reduce litter and the risk of crows, coyotes, or raccoons getting into the garbage and scattering it across the street.
But as the presentation highlighted, a black bin program also comes with disadvantages. Not only are they a more expensive option for residents, but they would likely also decrease the City's 'diversion' rate, which is the percentage of curbside materials that is diverted away from the landfill.
The City of Airdrie's target, set in 2018, was to have 80 per cent of the city's curbside waste diverted away from the landfill. As was mentioned on Monday, only 67 per cent of curbside waste is currently diverted – 62 per cent, after accounting for contamination – which means the City has fallen short of its goal.
Ultimately, council decided it's worth at the very least conducting a survey to see what the public thinks of black bins. It will be up to residents to inform the City of what direction they'd like to take in regards to waste collection. We'd only recommend our readers think about the pros and cons of each option and to not respond to the survey with a knee jerk reaction.
