A single-family home in Vancouver diverts about 50% of their waste to recycling, this lags far behind Port Moody’s remarkable 75 per cent.
But it’s not all bad news.
With the city collecting 63,000 tonnes of garbage per year from family households it’s good to know that it’s been constant over the last five years even with an annual increase in population and this may mean eventually eliminating the Delta landfill.
Since at the mid 90′s recycled waste has gone from 39 per cent to 55 per cent for the Metropolitan Vancouver area. The city would like 70-per-cent by 2015 and an 80 per cent diversion rate by 2020. How do we get there? More recycling.
This September, approximately 2,000 single-family homes in two selected neighbourhoods will be required to put biodegradable kitchen waste in yard trimming bins which will be gathered up weekly. To help with the process, collection of regular garbage will go from weekly to biweekly.
The city is hopeful that it will become all encompasing by mid-2012.
It’s a long way to an 80-per-cent diversion rate, but by judging by our customers attitudes it will be a target easily met.
