City eyes organic waste pilot project

The City of Brandon could extend its organic waste program to more residents this year — but with a difference.

City administration has presented a plan for a pilot project that would make it possible for people living in multi-unit homes and apartments to use a new version of the service. Currently, only single-family homes and smaller multi-unit buildings have green-bin pickup.

“For those multi-family units that want to compost — they can’t, because they don’t have an option readily available,” Lindsay Hargreaves, the city’s environmental initiatives co-ordinator, told council at its Dec. 15 meeting.

The proposed pilot program would run over the course of 12 weeks for 120 homes that would have to obtain electric food recyclers from the city.

Hargreaves said the recycler, which is about the size of a coffee maker, would quietly dry and grind food scraps over the course of four to eight hours and provide a product similar to sterilized soil.

People in the currently unserviced homes would have to apply to be in the program and track the weight of their food scraps and the number of cycles they use per week, and then complete a survey, Hargreaves said.

She said “participants may be required to pay a minimal fee,” but they would be allowed to keep their recycler after the project ends.

The finished product could be used for houseplants or could go in a community garden, among other uses, she said.

The program would cost the city about $50,000. Council will discuss implementing the project at budget deliberations later this month.

The results of the pilot project would be shared with council and building owners to explore the potential of creating a full-scale implementation, Hargreaves said.

She said removing food waste from garbage cans reduce a home’s black-bin volume by up to 50 per cent, which can extend the life of the landfill. She noted that organic waste going into the landfill produces more methane.

The largest cost savings would be for private building owners paying less to tip their garbage, she said.

The current green-cart system serves more than 10,000 homes in the city. Hargreaves described it as “great” for the people who are able to use it.

More than 150 communities across the country have implemented the electric recycler program, including 26 municipalities in Manitoba, most of which haven’t finalized reports, she said.

Coun. Kris Desjarlais (Ward 2) said if a full-scale version of the program would happen down the road, it would mean “significant reductions (over time) to the landfill.”

“They’re exciting in that they’re allowing people to compost all year long,” Desjarlais said.

“I think this is the kind of small-scale stuff that can turn into big changes in the community.”

A council report says that staff will look for other forms of funding that could help offset the potential costs of the project.

» alambert@brandonsun.com