SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Residents utilizing the curbside compost service might soon see city officials nosing through their trash.

Solid Waste Facility supervisor Carl Grabke stands by the current city compost site. A larger area has been developed for use as more neighbourhoods are added to the curbside collection program. - Meagan Leonard/NNSL photo

With the initiation of the composting program in the Range Lake neighbourhood in the fall and collection expected to roll out citywide by 2017, director of public works Chris Greencorn said the city will eventually start checking bins to ensure residents are composting properly and garbage is not finding its way in with organic waste.

"We are going to start doing spot checks and they'll be random so if there's garbage in the compost bin then we'll stop picking it up," he said.

Although many other cities with compost programs have started instigating fines for improper disposal, Greencorn says this is not something Yellowknife would adopt until much further down the road.

"We don't want to be heavy-handed," he said. "Once everybody has had the opportunity to feel it out and adjust, then we might start looking at a fine system for people who absolutely refuse to use it because when people start putting garbage in the compost bins, that causes problems."

John Oldfield, president of Kavanaugh Brothers Waste Removal said the company is planning an education initiative to help residents distinguish what constitutes organic waste.

"They are experiencing problems with people not using the correct bags ... some people are putting compost in plastic bags which you can't do, you have to use a proper compostable bag," he explained. "Some people are just using the compost bin as a garbage bin as well."

For those new to the process, a good rule of thumb is, if it was alive at some point it can be composted, if it wasn't then it doesn't. For example, meat, fish, poultry, bones, vegetables, fruit trimmings, egg shells, bread, pasta, coffee grounds and dairy products can all go in the green bins. Other less obvious items include paper coffee filters, tea bags, paper towels and napkins.

Peter Houweling, assistant superintendent of the solid waste facility, said the most common things they see are wrappers and plastic bags.

He says often food waste is thrown in "with the plastic wrapper still intact and that's where it's important to properly sort your organics going into the bin."

If these items make it to the facility, he says they must be handpicked from the refuse.

"It definitely takes some time," he said.

As more education initiatives are implemented, people will become more knowledgeable when it comes to composting, said Houweling.

"We're working with several schools (developing) compost programs," he said.

Greencorn says proper composting not only saves money but reduces the city's carbon footprint, emphasizing every cubic metre of waste entering the landfill costs $200, "so every cubic metre of organics that we get out of the landfill is saving $200 off the top."

"It's just an all-around benefit regarding landfill space, greenhouse gases and ... to top it all off, we get a useable end product that people just love for their garden - they call it black gold and it's going quick."

Overall, both Oldfield and Greencorn agree the program has enjoyed a successful first season after a few technical hiccups were worked out.

For the most part, residents are now placing their carts in the proper position without guidance and have been putting out compost and garbage on the correct days, says Oldfield.

"For the first month or so we put a labourer on the truck so if the person didn't have the cart in the right position, we would relocate it and hopefully they would catch the drift," he said. "Now probably 95 per cent of residents have their carts in the right spot."

He added parked cars on the street still create an issue.

"There should be at least three metres around the bin for the fingers on the arm to be able to reach out and grab the bin," Oldfield explained.

Range Lake resident John Lavoie told Yellowknifer he has been using his green bin regularly since the program started and is happy with the results.

"It's going good for me. It's reducing the garbage, the amount I throw out. The composting is helping a lot," he said. "I think (the program) is going to be worth it, I think it's beneficial."

Greencorn says the compost program will be expanded to Old Town this fall, with Frame Lake south and downtown included in 2016 and 2017, respectively.

"The city is very happy with the way the composting has been embraced," he said. "We have a few folks who don't necessarily buy in and that's OK, there's no 100 per cent solution but overall we deem it a big success."

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