Vancouver looks at change in recycling collection schedule

Council will consider approving the transition for about 100,000 single-family and duplex households across the city at the planning, transportation, and environment committee next Wednesday (October 17).

Peter Judd, Vancouver’s general manager of engineering services, said the schedule change would come into effect in the spring or summer of next year, with a communications campaign starting earlier in the spring. He noted the change in collection frequency is what has encouraged residents to switch to composting in other cities, such as Portland and Seattle. As the frequency of garbage collection is reduced to every two weeks, green bin collection will be increased to once a week.

“That’s one of the things that all of the cities that have done this kind of thing…have found is that that’s absolutely critical and that’s what drives the change in behaviour is the change in collection frequency, and we found that in the pilot areas too,” Judd told the Straight by phone.

The motion going before council also recommends that staff report back with an approach to move toward the introduction of mandatory recycling of compostable waste across all sectors before 2015, when a regional ban comes into effect.

“What we’re…talking about is coming forward with a plan for what we’re going to do in the multi-family and commercial sector,” said Judd.

As part of the food scraps program, council is being asked to approve a loan of $10.4 million to cover operating and capital costs, including the supply of additional recycling carts and distribution of kitchen containers, the implementation of a communications plan around the program, and improvements to transfer stations.

The council discussion next week follows the city’s transition last month to allowing Vancouver single-family households to include all food scraps, including fruits, vegetables, meat and dairy, in yard trimming bins. The initiative was first launched as a pilot project in two neighbourhoods.