With recycling efforts appearing to have stagnated in Greater Sudbury, much more needs to be done to reach the city’s goal of 90-per-cent waste diversion by 2050.
The amount of residential waste diverted from Greater Sudbury’s landfill sites hit 47 per cent last year, making it the third year in a row this number has gone up by one per cent.
Although a significant leap from the 28 per cent residential diversion recorded in 2005, one per cent increases per year won’t be enough to make the 90 per cent goal by 2050.
Blue box uptake is up slightly, according to the city’s latest statistics, released for the Oct. 16 operations committee of city council.
Approximately 92 per cent of Greater Sudbury households are using blue boxes this year, which is up from last year’s 88 per cent.
Further, 35 per cent of households are using green cart organics pickup, which is a slight increase from last year’s 34 per cent.
Although these small gains have pushed things in the right direction, with less waste going toward the city’s landfill sites, city environmental services director Renee Brownlee said statistics have stagnated compared to the uptick in use recorded in the prior few years.
Between 2018 and 2021, the city transitioned from allowing residents to drop off two bags/cans/bundles of garbage every week to two every other week.
This move has been credited with diverting waste from the city’s landfills, but more will need to be done to reach the city’s long-term goal.
This is where the Greater Sudbury Sustainable Waste Strategy comes into play.
Dillon Consulting project manager Betsy Varghese walked the city’s elected officials through the latest on the strategy during their Oct. 16 operations committee meeting, calling attention to upcoming public consultation sessions and a report to be tabled with city council in early 2024.
Several ideas were included in the Oct. 16 presentation, but the one that drew the greatest attention from the city council members was a proposed clear garbage bag program.
The program would have all users of the city’s municipal garbage collection services place their refuse in clear garbage bags so collectors can see whether disallowed materials, such as recyclables or compostables, are inside.
“There would have to be a threshold determined when you implement the policy, but we’re not looking to nitpick on a single item,” Brownlee said, noting that collectors wouldn’t leave garbage uncollected if, say, a single banana peel was found in the bag.
Residents would also be permitted to use small opaque privacy bags within each clear bag to help cover items they don’t want their neighbours to see.
With the city’s current collection contract expiring in 2028, with the possibility of a one-year extension, Brownlee said the clear garbage bag program might be short-lived, if adopted.
Many municipalities in Ontario have shifted toward using automated garbage collection instead of manual, which she said the city is considering despite it having its ups and downs.
Garbage collection, she said, is “an industry that’s very heavy with physical labour, it’s difficult to attract and retain staff and there are high injuries.”
Rather than having garbage collectors manually pick up garbage bags, many municipalities have shifted to using automated equipment, which finds a garbage truck lift uniform garbage containers with mechanical arms and dump their contents into their compactor.
On the flipside is the fact that more recyclable material tends to end up in the landfill when automated garbage collection is used, as there’s no one physically picking up and checking the garbage for items not allowed to be dumped with general refuse.
Efforts such as clear garbage bags will help “create behaviours in the household that will stay even after you move to an automated cart system,” city growth and infrastructure general manager Tony Cecutti said. “The vision is a sustainable community for future generations.”
Clear garbage bags and the city’s eventual adoption of an automated cart system are only two of many options up for public debate.
A public survey will be available on the city’s Over to You page from Oct. 18 to Nov. 7, where people can learn more about the City of Greater Sudbury Sustainable Waste Strategy and provide their feedback.
A series of drop-in events have also been scheduled, including:
Saturday, Oct. 21
- Sudbury Market Square at Elm Place (40 Elm St.) from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Toe Blake Memorial Arena (70 Government Road, Coniston), from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 22
- Howard Armstrong Recreation Centre (4040 Elmview Drive, Hanmer), from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Chelmsford Community Centre and Arena (215 Edward Ave., Chelmsford), from 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Monday, Oct. 23
- Lively Public Library and Citizen Services Centre (15 Kin Drive, Unit A), from 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
