Budget crunch delays St. John's recycling program

A long-awaited curbside recycling across St. John's has been delayed a year, as city council grapples with fierce budget conditions.

The city had expected to expand its curbside pickup program in the fall of 2009. Two neighbourhoods have been participating in a pilot project.

Coun. Tom Hann said residents hoping to put their recyclables on the sidewalk will be waiting a year longer, as council prepares a budget for the upcoming year.

"We have made the decision this week, going into the budget process, that we will put off for one year the implementation of the recycling portion of our waste management strategy," Hann told CBC News.

Some residents and environmental activists have long accused the City of St. John's of being slow to adopt recycling strategies.

Hann said the issue now boils down to money.

"We expect that we're going to have a tight budget year, this year, and so we have to look at how to balance the budget," said Hann.

"There are a number of things we can put off until the following year, until things loosen up a little bit."

Council's decision, though, has repercussions that extend beyond the city's boundaries.

Recycling plants are being built at the Robin Hood Bay landfill, and all municipalities on the Avalon Peninsula are expected to use them.

However, their launch will be delayed if St. John's by far the largest municipality in the region is not collecting recyclable materials.

Other municipalities on the Avalon waste management committee found out about the delay only after it had been approved.

"I hate to use the term, but I think the committee is somewhat of a charade," said Ed Grant, a Mount Pearl councillor who represents that city on the committee.

In St. John's, residents of a downtown neighbourhood as well as those in Cowan Heights have been taking part in a pilot project that launched in May 2007.

In a provincewide waste management strategy unveiled last year, the Newfoundland and Labrador government said it expected recycling to be a core component of how all municipalities handle waste.