City thanks community for six months of Curbside Enthusiasm

Households across the city have been using their green carts for six months and the results are more than ‘a-peel-ing’.

“We’ve seen roughly 85 per cent of residents participate in the green cart program in the first six months,” says James Nicholls, Collections Manager, Waste & Environment department. “It’s a very encouraging statistic for a community of our size. We know change can be hard to adapt to, especially when it comes to household routines. However, the results we’re seeing show residents support this change, which ultimately benefits our community for years to come.”

Estimated diversion data shows almost 4,000 tonnes of organic waste has been diverted from the landfill thanks to green carts in the first six months of the curbside organics program. This averages out to approximately 120 kgs of waste, per household. These promising results aid in contributing to the work being done to meet the City’s waste diversion targets. Set in 2018, City Council created a waste diversion target that aims to divert 50 per cent of the waste generated in Lethbridge by 2030.

“We’re really pleased with how the program has been adopted by the community so far,” says Mandi Parker, General Manager, Waste & Environment department. “We want to thank residents for being so willing to try something new to help benefit the entire community. Our focus is now on finding ways to increase those diversion numbers and strive towards our overall waste diversion targets.”

As the weather grows colder, Nicholls says his team is getting ready for the move to bi-weekly collection of green carts.

“Residents who have green carts can expect to see their cart collected every other week starting the week of November 6,” says Nicholls. “This seasonal approach to collection accounts for variations we see in yard waste generation and addresses what we’ve been calling the “yuck” or odour factor experienced during the warmer months. I’d encourage all residents to download the Lethbridge Loop for cart collection reminders. It takes the guesswork out of which cart you have to set out on your collection days.”

The app is free to download for both Apple and Android devices and offers residents the opportunity to receive alerts about planned services that may affect their home and neighbourhood. The app will send a reminder directly to your phone indicating which cart needs to be set out on collection day. The app can also advise when snow routes are activated, planned power outages are scheduled in addition to other planned City service reminders like spring street sweeping.

Curbside organics has recently started to be rolled out to residents who live in apartments and condominiums. The first collection of one complex of apartments took place this month. Residents who are included in this phase are encouraged to reach out to their property managers to learn when they’ll receive their opportunity to dispose of their household organics.

For Public Inquiries:

Call 311 | Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.