It appears Lethbridge residents are putting the new curbside recycling program to very good use.
Since full roll out of the program started in mid-May, there has been a whopping 96% increase in the amount of recyclable material collected compared to that collected at the recycling stations for the same time period last year.
Waste and Recycling Manager, Joel Sanchez says they’re extremely pleased with the results so far.
He says of the more than 562,000 kilograms of recyclables collected from the curbside program to date, 90% is good quality, marketable material.
The City’s new Material Recovery Facility (MRF) reports 82% of the collected material so far has been fibers which includes both cardboard and paper, 4% has been plastics, 2% metals, 2% other recyclable material and 10% contamination.
So far, 394 tonnes of fiber have been shipped to North American markets and 19 tonnes of plastic have been sent to Eastern Canada.
Sanchez says participation rates have been a bit low, at about 60% but expects that number will improve.