Garbage going to landfill down 31.4%, says Halifax report

Recent changes to curbsidepick up of garbage, recyclables and compost in Halifaxseem to be working, according to a recent report.

The amount of garbage heading to the landfill in August andSeptember dropped by31.4 per cent compared to the same time last year, the statistics from Solid Waste Resources show.

• Trash talk: your questions answered about clear bags

The amount of organics being sent to the composting plants is down8.1 per cent and recycling is up 19.4 per cent.

That surprisedRegional Councilor Reg Rankin, who represents Timberlea-Beechville-Clayton Park West, where theOtter Lake Waste Processing andDisposal Facilityis located.

"I wasn't that hopeful," Rankin said."I knew it would be inthe right direction, butthis is a very positive outcome."

Starting on the first of August, home owners had to start puttingmost garbage in clear bags.Only one of six can be put ina blackbag.Box board was switched from the green cart to the blue bagand grass is no longer allowed at all in the composting stream.

• Read the report to Halifax Regional Council about the impact of clear garbage bags

The move was done to try to reduce the overall cost of the municipality'swaste system.

"The most expensive place [to put our garbage]is in a landfill," Rankin said."It extends the life of the landfill that much more, so allaround very good news."

Thesenumbers are similar to whathappened in Cape Breton, the Annapolis Valley and Markham,Ont.,when those municipalities switched to clear bags, the report said.

Buttwo months of data is not enoughto signal a trend, the report warned. Instead, staff will continue to gather more information,such as the number of garbage bags generated per household.