City residents recycled more than ever in 2014

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/04/2015 (2911 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

We’re in the green.

The City of Winnipeg says more waste was diverted from the Brady Road Landfill in 2014 than ever before.

Two years into a program that saw separate bins for trash and recyclables rolled out across Winnipeg, the city said Friday residents have taken to the system with enthusiasm.

In a statement, the city said “2014 was the second full year (for) the strategy, and we are already seeing notable improvements in our ability to divert more from the landfill.”

At the same time, earlier wrinkles in pickup schedules have largely been ironed out.

“There has been significant improvement in both our contractor performance and customer adoption of the cart collection program,” the statement said.

The statement released some highlights from the 2014 waste-management strategy annual report:

— 29.7 per cent is the rate at which waste was diverted from the landfill, slightly above the city’s target of 25 per cent of all waste.

— 30,0000 metric tonnes of yard waste was composted, instead of trashed, on a new 22-acre compost pad set up in 2013. That’s 28 per cent more compost over the first year of curbside collection.

— A 109,740 tonnes of carbon dioxide was captured and flared at the Brady Road Landfill. That’s equivalent to cutting emissions from 23,046 passenger cars.

— A 47 per cent reduction in complaint calls about missed recycling, garbage and yard waste pickups over 2013.

— A 60 per cent reduction in complaints to 311 of abandoned garbage in 2014, compared to 2013.

Meanwhile, the city is moving forward with plans to cut residential waste by 50 per cent through a landfill strategy that will better manage all organic waste, including kitchen waste, leaf and yard waste, biosolids, landscaping, animal and wood waste.

The city opened up a formal process to take proposals on strategies in 2014.Construction was completed on a new seven-acre pilot facility to compost about 20 per cent of more than 50,000 tonnes produced annually at the three sewage-treatment plants.

— staff