Phase 1 curbside organics showing ‘wheelie’ good success rates

​Residents who have been a part of the first phase of the curbside organics program have been reporting good success using their green cart.

In the spring of 2022, the first phase of curbside organics was rolled out to 1,900 households. As the city-wide roll out to single unit dwellings draws closer, Waste and Recycling General Manager, Steve Rozee, says he's happy to see some positive feedback about the program from those involved in the first phase.

"Asking someone to change the way they throw out their garbage is not an easy thing to do," says Rozee. "We really wanted to hear from those residents who have been part of the first phase of the program. What did they like, what were the things they think can be improved and what surprised them. What is clear in the feedback of the first phase survey though, is the majority of residents are pleased with the program. We will consider feedback on potential improvements as we prepare to roll out curbside organics to the rest of the city."

The What We Heard report was developed from a survey conducted in the fall of last year which asked a range of question of the households involved in the first phase of curbside organics. 78.1 per cent of survey respondents said they were happy with the program with a further 15.6 per cent showing neutral satisfaction and just 6.3 per cent saying they were unhappy with the service.

When asked what were the top three things they liked about the program, residents included environmental benefits, more space in the black cart convenience and being part of a community effort.

The benefit of not having to go to the yard waste site was one of the commonly held benefits noted.

"What was promising to see was 73 per cent of survey respondents said they noticed a change to the amount of waste in their black carts since starting the program," says Waste and Recycling Operations Manager, James Nicholls. "The curbside organics program is really intended to divert waste from the landfill and so seeing this result from the survey illustrates this program is meeting this goal."

One opportunity for improvement noted from the report was that just over half of respondents knew they would be seeing a $5/month charge for the service on their utility bill starting in spring 2023. Residents in phase one of the curbside organics program have had their utility charge for the program waived until the city-wide roll out.

Green carts will be rolled out to remaining single unit dwelling units in the spring of 2023 and the program will be expanded to include multifamily dwellings after that.

To learn more about the program, the team from Waste and Recycling will be at the Community Conversation event on Wednesday at the ENMAX Centre from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. As always, residents can also reach out to 311 via phone or chat to learn more.