Mike Langlois of the city's solid waste department loads blue recycling carts for deliveries to homes that began on Tuesday. The process of delivering 23,000 carts, stockpiled at the city's Marshall Avenue public works yard, could continue to the end of June.--NEWS PHOTO COLLIN GALLANT
Medicine Hat News
Delivery of blue carts for curbside recycling has begun in Medicine Hat, though the process of getting 23,000 collection bins to residences could take seven weeks to complete.
Crews began Tuesday distributing the carts that are stockpiled at the city’s Marshall Avenue yard, dropping them off at homes and residential addresses that already have grey bins for general trash collection.
It’s hard to determine when the bins will arrive in specific areas, said environmental utilities general manager Brian Murphy. And bins are being evenly distributed across all five city collection zones, meaning drop offs could end mid-block and not sequentially block by block. That is so collection — which begins at homes that have bins on the next regular trash pick up day — can be ramped up and give the contracted provider time to make adjustments.
“People nearby might get a cart before you do; we don’t want people to be concerned,” said Murphy.
“Residents who have received carts will see collection on the next regular collection day.”
Cart should be used and placed just as a grey or green bins, said Murphy, adding residents should receive an instruction booklet with the cart.
The carts can be used to dispose unsorted recyclable material, such as generally clean newsprint, paper, cardboard, tin cans and most plastics, though not polystyrene (Styrofoam) or glass.
Glass as well as all recyclable material can still be dropped off at the city’s recycling depot locations.
Council approved adding the service in early 2017 when it was contracted out to CanPak Environmental, which has subsequently purchased the city’s sorting facility and has been making depot pickups since last summer.
On Monday, council approved the $1.7-million purchase of the bins from funds realized on the sale of the sorting facility.
CanPak is required to supply its own trucks, equipment and staff.
City administrators say the addition will result in no more than $6 per month added to utility bills, though that could include more than the $6 charge combined with a reduction in general solid waste charges.
The formal rate will go before council this spring for approval.
