SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - It's high time the city moves ahead and institutes a curbside recycling program and lowers garbage bag limits, according to one city councillor.

Phil Hesse, a surveyor with Dillon Consulting, was at the Yellowknife Solid Waste facility taking measurements of trash volume on Aug. 11. The city’s recycling program is reducing the amount of garbage in the city’s landfill, but there is still more work that needs to be done, according to the chair of the city’s solid waste management advisory committee. - Terrence McEachern/NNSL photo Fact file: Recycling by the numbers The City of Yellowknife processed, baled and landfilled about 30,000 cubic metres of waste in 2009. The city spent $271,000 in 2008 on waste collection. The city has $278,000 budgeted for waste collection in 2010. Waste processing cost the city $784,000 in 2008. In 2010, the city has more than $1 million budgeted for waste processing. Waste recycling in 2008 cost $218,000. There is $198,000 budgeted for waste recycling in 2010. Of the 1,434 bales (2,006 cubic metres) of recycled material collected in 2008, 1,038 bales (1,453 cubic metres) came from newsprint, cardboard and paper products. The city is forecasting 1,810 bales of recycled material (2,534 cubic metres) and 1,250 bales (1,750 cubic metres) of newsprint, cardboard and paper products this year. The city collected 16,000 litres of waste oil in 2008, and is expecting to collect 18,000 litres in 2010. Source: City of Yellowknife 2010 Budget Update Solid Waste Management Fund.

The city first broached the idea of curbside recycling through a citizens survey in 2005, and again the following year when residents were asked whether they would support a $6 increase to the monthly solid waste levy, currently at $11. Fifty-two per cent of those polled said yes.

It was enough for former Public Works director Greg Kehoe to announce a city proposal to implement curbside recycling by 2008, but then the focus changed. There were no questions related to curbside recycling in the 2007 citizens survey. Instead, the city asked whether there were enough blue recycling bins where residents could drop off their recyclable material rather than put it out at the curb.

City councillor Paul Falvo. who heads the city's solid waste management advisory committee, said the city needs to put curbside recycling back on the table.

"It's no wonder some people are unhappy, because we make it harder to recycle," said Falvo.

"So, that's extra work. And, there's got to be an environmental impact of those vehicles driving to the blue bins with the (recyclables). You hope it doesn't defeat the purpose of recycling."

The city has had a recycling program since 1994. In 2008, the city collected approximately 2,008 cubic metres of recyclables. It spent $218,000 on waste recycling and made $43,000 on the sale of recyclables. This year, the city expects to collect 2,534 cubic metres, and has $198,000 and $30,000 budgeted on waste recycling and the sale of recyclables, respectively.

Falvo said the majority of recyclable products such as tin cans, cardboard and newsprint are sold and shipped to a recycling facility in Edmonton. Only glass remains in the city to be crushed and reused as a liner or fill at the landfill, he said.

He said the long-term goal of the program is to make recycling as easy and convenient for residents as possible.

Falvo said he'd also like to see the three garbage bag limit reduced to two.

"I do personally favour the two-bag limit. I think the time is right to do that because of all the extra recycling now."

Residents are expected to pay $1 for each bag over the limit.

Doug Ritchie, program director with Ecology North, said he's pleased with the progress both the city and the GNWT have made with recycling initiatives, especially regarding the recycling of certain types of plastics and composting programs. He said he thinks residents are warming to the idea of recycling, but he'd also like to see the city do more to promote waste reduction.

"The reality is that landfilling is an expensive option and we have to thoroughly explore all the alternatives and implement alternatives to landfilling," he said.

According to Ritchie, what is missing is a collection, recycling and storage system for electronic equipment.

In particular, he said he is concerned with the switch to digital cable in February 2011.

"We could see a lot more old TVs being thrown out; so I think it's really important to prevent those TVs from going into the landfill," he said.

Falvo said while there has been progress with the city's recycling efforts, there is still the challenge with attitudes toward recycling in Yellowknife.

"I don't think people in the North, want to be told what to do," said Falvo.

"We sort of live 'bigger' up here. We like space, we like to do our own thing. It is not a place where people love to have a lot of rules and being told what to do.

"So, I think there's always that. There's more of a frontier spirit. And that's all good, but that's why I want to make it easier for people rather than make (recycling) restrictive to people."

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