Waste commission encouraging more recycling

The Westmoreland-Albert Solid Waste Corporation is hoping more people will participate in the wet-dry recycling program. It says 82,000 tonnes of garbage could be diverted from the landfill if businesses, institutions, apartments and condos were on the program.

Right now only homes use the wet-dry program, putting compostable material in green bags and almost everything else in a blue bag by the curb.

Christa-Lee Methot says the challenge is finding a way to get the remaining customers on the system, and having a way for them to separate their trash. She says that's because apartment buildings and businesses use dumpsters.

The waste corporation is working with customers to find ways to separate their garbage into wet and dry sections. It says Fundy National Park and the Sackville hospital have found ways to participate in the recycling program.

Other businesses, such as Moncton's Howard Johnson Hotel, are waiting for a solution which will allow for participation in the recycling program.

"We're going to have to educate our staff as to what is wet and dry. The second step is to educate our guests. Obviously we'll need their support and co-operation with this," says the hotel's Ron Hebert.

He says people in other provinces live with much stricter recycling programs, and he hopes customers are willing to reduce the amount of garbage they send to the landfill.