North Grenville’s organic waste program sees 20 per cent of garbage diverted from landfill

North Grenville’s new organic waste program has proven to be a good thing for the municipality, according to council.

The program implemented last February not only diverted waste from the landfill, but the cost to implement the program was under budget. 

That’s based on a report released by North Grenville’s council on Tuesday, June 7.

Key findings show the average “organics capture rate” surpassed the first- and second-year goals of 30 and 40 per cent, respectively, by reaching 41 per cent. 

(The organics capture rate is the weight of recyclable material collected for recycling divided by the weight of all recyclable in the waste stream.)

And the amount of garbage sent to landfill was reduced by 20 per cent, versus the same period one year prior. 

In September and October 2020, council retained Emterra Environmental for waste management collection and approved an updated bag tag system for the municipality, according to the report. 

“The municipality introduced a weekly curbside bulky item and leaf and yard waste collections events. The new contract also changed the frequency of garbage collection from weekly to biweekly.”

Participation in the bulky item and leaf and yard waste events was lower than expected, the report outlined.

It also suggested exploring a reduction in the number of collections per year during the 2023 budget process.

In its pre-program estimates, the municipality anticipated the rollout of the waste program would cost more than $176,750. However, the actual cost added up to $166,805 — a $9,945 difference.

The cost of waste disposal was also $91,100 less than anticipated, as the municipality spent $509,300, the financials show. 

The price tag for the blue box processing ended up costing $43,720 – about $21,90 less than forecasted figures. 

And while it was expected the municipality would have received more than $916,000 in revenue in the first year of the program, North Grenville ended up obtaining revenue of just over $899,300.

The waste collection program, the reports says, can be considered to be operating as net zero. 

And while all the details about the blue box transition have not been released, North Grenville’s blue box program is set to transition on October 1, 2023.