by Colin Smith
A public education program, including partnerships with local schools and other groups, may become part of Morinville’s strategy for dealing with waste management.
At its July 9 regular meeting, the council passed a motion by Councillor Maurice St. Denis directing to bring forward a business case for such a program for consideration in the 2025 budget.
The motion followed a presentation by Infrastructure Manager Jordan Betteridge of a report on a town-wide waste audit undertaken earlier this year.
The audit was conducted over three weeks in March by GFL Environmental Inc., the town’s solid waste collection contractor.
During its course, the audit team made 5,334 home visits (with some homes being visited more than once) to check waste carts and recycling blue bags.
There were 4,552 waste carts out for collection. Of these, 143 (3.1%) had infractions, notably too much organic material in the cart. There were also 97 overfilled carts (2.1%).
Recycling bags were out for collection at 2,907 homes, 104 (3.5%) with infractions.
The major infraction concerns were pizza boxes, which are compostable, and plastics in the bags that are not accepted.
In relation to the organics program, 3,677 home visits were made. There were 755 organics carts out for collection, 44 (5.8%) of which had infractions, and none were overfilled.
The low usage of organic carts—only 20%—is a concern. Despite the survey occurring during a period of low-yard waste generation, some organic materials were still disposed of in the regular waste carts.
According to the report, the audit data suggests that Morinville does not have a significant waste diversion problem. Feedback from Roseridge Landfill on its results is that they don’t see significant waste contamination.
On the basis that there is always room for improvement, administration consulted GFL on improving compliance. The company suggested an educational campaign.
Extended Producer Responsibility
The report also considered options for dealing with extended producer responsibility, a provincial government policy introduced in 2022 that requires product producers to be responsible for the collection and processing of their products.
Under the opt-in service model, Morinville would continue to manage its recycling program, while opt-out service would see recycling collection and post-collection handled by the Circular Materials organization.
The opt-out model was recommended by administration, as placing least risk on the town, not requiring administrative resources to manage additional contracts and ensuring the program is 100% cost-free for residents.
Education Program Considered
Following presentation of the report Councillor Jen Anheliger put forward a motion directing administration to pursue the opt-out option. The motion passed in a unanimous vote of the council members present.
Councillor Stephen Dafoe was not at the meeting.
St. Denis then moved that administration bring forward a business case for 2025 budget consideration for a waste management education program, including partnerships with local schools and other relevant stakeholders.
“If there is an opportunity to get into schools and to work with youth, I think there can be some real change,” he said. “They are going to be going to be going home and having these conversations with their families. I think that’s where real change happens.”
Organics Carts To Be Replaced
Morinville’s organics carts are nearing the end of their life cycle . Replacement of carts takes place July 23 and August 14. The town is asking that carts be placed out on designated pick up day. Residents can find their cart replacement day at https://ow.ly/pWbe50Sv3vX
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