North Battleford Assistant Director of Utility Services Tammy MacCormack discusses plans for a Residential Waste Audit next month. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Trash-o-Metre

City planning to audit residents’ garbage for study

Apr 16, 2019 | 4:56 PM

Residents accustomed to tossing their recyclable items in with their garbage to save time may want to change their ways when the city’s starts its Residential Waste Audit.

The city is working with a consultant to conduct the audit in an effort to reduce the amount of refuse being directed to the city’s landfill, and educate the public.

The city will collect data from 100 residential properties throughout the city for the audit planned for May 27 to 31.

“This is very exciting. We’re going to be getting to know what our residents are throwing away, and potentially what kind of diversion programs we can come up with,” North Battleford Assistant Director of Utility Services Tammy MacCormack said at Monday’s city planning committee meeting.

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The aim of the audit is to determine the amount and what types of waste are generated by residential properties “using representative data,” according to MacCormack’s report. It will study both residential waste and recycling disposal patterns.

MacCormack noted this is the first year a waste audit has been performed in the city on residential waste.

She said in her report the audit will determine whether the existing recycling program is effective enough in diverting recyclable products away from the landfill.

Waste Management Facility staff will be trained to perform quarterly waste audits for the future.

For the upcoming audit, crews will categorize the waste collected by sorting the items as either: paper, plastic, glass and/or metal, organics such as food waste, beverage containers, electronics, household hazardous waste, textiles (clothing and footwear, for example), and other waste such as non-recyclables.

MacCormack added once the audit is completed, the city might want to do the same for city-owned facilities “to see where we can make improvements there as well.”

Audits can also show whether people’s patterns are changing to be more environmentally responsible.

Mayor Ryan Bater mentioned the residential audit will help the city determine what options are available to help downsize waste.

“There is a real responsibility we have to educate the public on waste management, not just the environmental impacts but the financial impacts on the city,” the mayor said. “When we fill up our current (landfill) cell, we have to build a new cell, and that’s expensive.”

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow