Findings from August curbside collection spotcheck released

Lloydminster, AB/SK – The findings from the August curbside contamination spotcheck found that 70-90 per cent of inspected households are properly disposing of organics, recycling and waste.

Conducted in partnership with GFL Environmental Inc., residents enrolled in the curbside collection program who had their organics, recyclables and waste at the curb took part in a curbside contamination spotcheck over three weeks in August 2021.

While most of those inspected were compliant, the findings supplement an internal review of the curbside collection program’s recycling stream. Together, these reports indicate the community is on track to reach a 12 per cent decrease in recyclables hitting the blue bag in 2021. This figure is an increase from five per cent year-over-year from 2017 through 2020.

“The City of Lloydminster recognizes the annual decrease in recyclables being sent for processing. Initially, we speculated this might be from products being constructed of lighter-weight plastics. However, initial review of the spotcheck findings indicate the recycling stream may not be utilized to its full potential,” says Karen Dela-Rosa, Senior Manager, Waste Services. “We encourage residents to use all three streams – organics, recycling and garbage – to maximize our waste diversion and environmental responsibility.”

Some of the most common infractions discovered throughout the spotcheck were:

• Improper placement of carts, recycling
• Contamination (improper disposal)
• Overfilled carts

“Proper disposal of unwanted items and waste is crucial to keeping unnecessary items out of the City of Lloydminster’s landfill. Any time contamination is detected, the recyclers are unable to break down the products due to the impurities, which then results in the entire load being sent to a landfill.”

The City will continue to review the findings to determine the best course of action for the City and the community to support a common goal in reducing the collective environmental impact and carbon footprint. Areas of interest are community engagement and taking part in national or provincial awareness campaigns.

Follow these easy steps to ensure collection

• Have carts and recycling bags on the curbside, spaced 1 metre (3 feet) apart by 7 a.m. on collection day.
• Place your blue/clear recycling bags on the curbside and ensure carts are facing forward. Materials placed on boulevards and lawns are not out for collection and will not be accepted.
• Cart lids must be 100% closed. Overflowing carts will not be emptied.
• Do not overload carts. Heavy carts cannot be picked up by the truck’s mechanical arm.
• Do not park in front of carts and recycling bags until they are collected. Angle parking also makes carts inaccessible.
• Extra bags outside carts (except for blue/clear recycling bags) will not be picked up.
• Loose material will not be collected.

Commonly misplaced items

• Styrofoam – This material is not recyclable and must be placed in the grey waste cart
• Shredded Paper – This material is too small to be sorted at the recycling facilities and must be placed in the green organics cart. If choosing to bag the paper, ensure to use certified organic bags.
• Pizza Boxes – All pizza boxes go in the green organics cart. Even if they appear clean, there are food and grease particles on the cardboard.
• Tissue and Paper Towel – These items easily biodegrade and are usually soiled. Place them in the green organics cart.
• Soft plastics & black plastics – Any plastic that is soft such as plastic wrap, cellophane and hinged plastic containers (example: strawberry container) or black plastics such as disposable utensils and rigid takeout containers are not recyclable and must be placed in the grey waste cart.

Spotcheck Summary

For three weeks beginning August 3, 2021, the curbside collection spot check crew visited 8,060 houses:

• Of the 2,387 green organics carts observed, 261 had infractions such as contamination, overfilled carts, and improper placement.
• Of the 1,901 blue/clear bags observed, 515 had infractions such as contamination and improper placement.
• Of the 5,887 grey waste carts observed, 773 had infractions such as contamination, overfilled carts, and improper placement.

Spotcheck Summary

For three weeks beginning August 3, 2021, the curbside collection spot check crew visited 8,060 houses:

• Of the 2,387 green organics carts observed, 261 had infractions such as contamination, overfilled carts, and improper placement.
• Of the 1,901 blue/clear bags observed, 515 had infractions such as contamination and improper placement.
• Of the 5,887 grey waste carts observed, 773 had infractions such as contamination, overfilled carts, and improper placement.

Learn More

The recycling program largely remains the same after changes to the recycling stream of the City of Lloydminster’s curbside collection program. The items no longer accepted comprise about four per cent of recycled items.

More than 8,300 single and multi-family homes participate in the curbside collection program. Since its inception in April 2013, the program has diverted over 26,000 tonnes of waste from the landfill. Visit Lloydminster.ca/curbside for more information about the City of Lloydminster’s curbside collection program and frequently asked questions.