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Town tackles waste reduction

To the Editor and residents of the Town of St.

To the Editor and residents of the Town of St. Paul:

Over the past 10 years, there have been numerous discussions at town council meetings, as well as articles in the local media with regards to our landfill practices and initiatives to divert biodegradable (organice) waste from going to a landfill.

In the fall of 2016, after securing grants, a competition was held and international company Tetra Tech Inc. was chosen to lead the project. Tetra Tech provides consulting, engineering, program management and construction management services that address fundamental needs for water, environment, infrastructure, resource management and energy.

The initial study carried out included the Town of St. Paul and municipal members of the Evergreen Waste Commission and the Beaver River Waste Management Commission. Early in the sampling portion of the study, it was noted that 40 to 50 per cent of our waste collected was biodegradable, and could be diverted from the landfill rather easily.

Biodegradable material includes any organic waste which can be broken down into carbon dioxide, water, methane or simple organic molecules by micro-organisms and other living things, using composting, aerobic digestions, anaerobic digestions or similar processes. It also includes some inorganic materials which can be decomposed by bacteria.

The Government of Alberta is asking municipalities to undertake measures that will reduce the divergence of biodegradable materials to landfill sites by 80 per cent by the year 2030. Given that almost half of the waste collection in the Town of St. Paul is organic, town council allocated funds in the 2017 budget to implement curbside pickup of all organics and municipal solid waste.

The program would be a cart system similar to that used in many Alberta communities, with a green cart for organic waste, along with a specific kitchen catcher and a black cart for solid waste. All the carts and containers provided to each residence for this purpose would be funded through the municipality.

Although some residents, where back alleys don’t exist, currently get curbside pick-up of waste, for all residents, curbside pickup and the requirement to separate organic and solid waste will be something new. A second advantage to the curbside pickup method is that the mechanical efficiencies of the equipment has been proven to lessen injuries to municipal employees.

Currently, the Town of St. Paul has a compost area at the transfer station, used primarily for leaves, grass and tree branches. However, with the implementation of a curbside pickup program, we are working with Alberta Environment to make any changes required to allow food waste to be composted.

As we move forward with this program, residents can expect a public open house and more information to be shared through the local media, which will help residents understand their responsibilities and make the changes required as seamless as possible. As with the implementation of any new program, it is anticipated that adjustments may be necessary once the program kicks in. In the meantime, I welcome any public input into this matter.

In closing, it is my hope as your mayor, that you all understand that by collaborating on making this program a success, our community will be a model of how the Town of St. Paul is committed to good stewardship of our planet. While the road has been long and heavy, I thank you all for your patience as we move forward in launching this program.

Glenn Andersen

Mayor, Town of St. Paul




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