Mike Bryan
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Aug 26/05) - After years of pleading from environmental groups, City Hall appears ready to take on curbside recycling.

The proposal was introduced to city council for the first time during a committee meeting last week. Public Works director, Greg Kehoe, said if all goes well curbside recycling bins could be in place as early as 2007 but more likely the year after.

Clayton Morrell, operator of Yellowknife Recycling Services, says he is willing to be driven out of business as long as the city implements a citywide recycling program.

Starting Jan. 1, 2006, residents will be limited to three 77-litre bags of garbage per week. Kehoe said the city hopes that will induce people to think more about sorting recyclables from regular household waste.

"It will be a good time to go to recycling at the curbside, when people are used to putting less waste at the curb," said Kehoe. "The city could pick up the waste one week, and then recycling the other week."

Attached to this year's call for proposals on the contract for garbage pick-up is a clause requesting a cost analysis for curbside recycling. The deadline is Sept. 15. Kavanaugh Brothers have held the contract for years. The company's owner, John Oldfield, was out of town and unavailable for comment.

Figuring out costs

Kehoe said he will have to wait until proposals come in to figure out how much more must be added to monthly solid waste levies to pay for curbside recycling.

One thing is certain, residents will have to pay for it if they want it.

The monthly solid waste levy increased by $1 to $11 per household this year, which led to groans of protest in some quarters.

"If it comes up that recycling will cost $10 and residents say, 'no,' we'll keep going with recycling depots," said Kehoe.

"If we go with $5, and the community says, 'yes,' then we can do it earlier."

This year's citizen's survey found that 57 per cent would be willing to pay a fee for curbside recycling, although no amount was specified.

Kehoe said the city will likely hold a public consultation meeting on the proposal, Sept. 21.

The city spends about $290,000 a year on its recycling depot program, where residents deliver recyclables and sort them into bins.

Four locations

There are four locations: the corner of School Draw Ave. and Franklin Ave., the Yellowknife Community Arena parking lot, the Co-op store, and the dump.

In 2003, the landfill processed 538 bales of material deemed to be recyclable. Only about five per cent of garbage going to the dump, however, is diverted from the landfill.

The city ships recyclables like cardboard and aluminum cans to buyers down south. They expect to collect $25,000 this year.

With the exception of big brand name beer bottles, glass beverage containers, including liquor and wine bottles, are not recycled and go into the landfill.

Adam Pich, who will run the territorial government's beverage container recycling program in Yellowknife when it opens Nov. 1, intends to ship all glass bottles down south.

Kehoe said his department hadn't considered turning over glass bottles collected at curbside to Pich's depot, but may do that now. "The last place we want it is in the landfill," said Kehoe.

Regardless of whether the city adopts curbside recycling, Kehoe said the city intends to revise commercial tipping fees collected for glass from $65 per tonne to $30 a tonne. Until last month, the city didn't charge anything.

Only option for curbside collection

Clayton Morrell, who started Yellowknife Recycling Services two years ago, is currently the only option for people who want their recyclables collected at the curb. He boasts a client list of 140, and says he has recycled about 30 tonnes so far. For roughly $10 a month he will collect your recyclables, sort them, and haul them to the dump.

Morrell said if another company like Kavanaugh puts him out of business, so be it, as long as full-scale recycling comes to Yellowknife.

"I started this up because I got sick of waiting for the city," said Morrell. "I figured I'd embarrass the city as well because everybody I talked to before said I wouldn't make any money off this."

Ecology North spokesperson Doug Ritchie called the city's step closer to curbside recycling a "great idea."