With over half of Creighton residents now on board with curbside recycling, officials are optimistic the program will grow even more popular with time.
Ray Gilfillan, who drives the town’s recycling and garbage truck, estimates that 60 per cent of Creightonites, if not more, are using the service.
“There are some houses we’re getting three or four bags from,” he said.
“People have been on board pretty good from
the start.”
Gilfillan, co-owner of garbage-collection contractor Dallen Industries, said he has also noticed a 25 to 30 per cent drop in the volume of trash he hauls to the dump.
It’s all welcome news for Deb Odegaard, administrator of the Flin Flon Recycling Centre and a long-time environmental advocate.
“I think 60 per cent is definitely getting there,” she said.
“I’m pleased with that, but I think as it becomes more and more normal we can expect it to go higher.”
Odegaard hasn’t noticed a large influx of new material at the Recycling Centre, but she said with many residents on vacation the true measure will come
in September.
Still finding out
Gilfillan said some residents are still finding out that curbside recycling is an option.
“You make them aware of the fact and the next time you go by, they’ve got a bag out,” he said.
On May 1, Creighton switched from two garbage days a week to one garbage day and one recycling day.
The change was applauded by both Odegaard and Gilfillan.
“I had been hoping that they would do something for a number of years,” said Gilfillan.
Gilfillan, whose company also manages Creighton’s landfill, said he had observed a lot of material go to the dump that should have been recycled.
Now he occasionally runs into the opposite problem as some Creightonites place food waste in with their recyclables, meaning they must be picked up on garbage day instead.
Gilfillan collects half of Creighton’s curbside recyclables on Thursdays and the other half on Fridays. He similarly splits garbage pickups between Mondays and Tuesdays.
Recyclables must be placed in transparent bags, which are sold at several local retailers.
Creighton town council voted to launch curbside recycling, at no extra cost to taxpayers, as a means
of encouraging recycling and reducing garbage
volumes.
That goal is in line with the town’s Official Community Plan, of which one aim is to “reduce the amount of garbage going into the landfill to lower operational costs and extend its lifespan.”
But while the town is urging residents to limit garbage output to two bags a week, there is nothing stopping them from simply doubling up on the single garbage day that remains.
Previous lobbying efforts to bring taxpayer-funded curbside pickups to Flin Flon and Denare Beach were unsuccessful.
Part of the reason Creighton had such an “easy decision,” Odegaard said previously, is that its garbage truck was already stopping by each home twice a week.
Residents of Flin Flon can still access curbside recycling by purchasing authorized red bags from select retailers. Contact the Recycling Centre for more information.
