Ahead of the start of a new curbside recycling program, the Town of Coalhurst has announced the continuation of other waste collection programs.
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At its Sept. 15 meeting, council members directed administration to continue the community organics bin program, based at the Coalhurst Recycling Depot, for the rest of 2026 and throughout 2027.
The program was launched in Aug. 2025 and gives residents a central location where they can get rid of household organics, including items like kitchen and yard waste.
The decision by council follows a review of results from the program and a recommendation from the Committee of the Whole. Officials said over the past year, the community organics bin has seen “substantial contamination” from the disposal of unapproved waste or materials. When this happens, the organic material has to be sent to the landfill. Acceptable organics are listed on the Town of Coalhurst website.
Council said with the new curbside recycling program set to start this month, it was agreed upon to continue the organics bin program for one more year while administration monitors contamination levels and evaluates the effectiveness of the program.
Administration will do quarterly evaluations to see whether there have been any measurable changes in contamination levels.
Based on the results, council might decide to continue, modify or scrap the program.
Officials added that the estimated cost of continuing the organics program through next year is $10,000, which can be accommodated within the current Recycling Depot budget.
Additionally, administration will look at improvements to the organics bin’s placement and signage to encourage proper use and reduce contamination levels.
SOLID WASTE COLLECTION
Council has also tasked staff with continuing the weekly residential and commercial curbside solid waste collection.
The program is delivered by the Town’s Public Operations Department. In preparation for the new curbside recycling program, administration did a Waste Collection Service Review. Officials said that was done to evaluate service delivery options, associated costs, and the benefits and considerations of maintaining an in-house collection service, as opposed to contracting the service.
The review examined three options, including:
- Maintaining the current weekly residential and commercial collection service;
- Contracting weekly residential collection; or
- Contracting by-weekly residential collection.
Officials explained that solid waste collection is a cost-recovery utility, which means the costs of the service are covered through utility billings.
After reviewing the findings, council followed the recommendation from administration to maintain the current weekly service model.
Administration will bring a memo to council in Sept. 2027 to report again on the program.
