A food scrap recycling program that began in January in the Valmar area of Grand Forks is coming to a close and has been successful by all accounts.
Residents were given green and beige buckets, with the beige buckets for their kitchens and the green buckets for their curbsides.
They were asked to separate food scraps (fruit peelings, egg shells etc.) from their garbage, with that organic waste being collected every week and garbage and recycling collected on alternating weeks.
The Regional District of Kootenay Boundary (RDKB) initiated the project and prior to that, the Valmar subdivision was said to be throwing out over a ton of garbage but thanks to the pilot project, it has reduced waste by half.
The pilot project will actually come to an end on Wednesday, July 11 and at that time, it will be determined if the project will become a service that will be available to all residents of Grand Forks.
Organic waste collection should be continued and expanded and the reasons are numerous.
Reduction of waste going to the landfill will reduce the amount of methane, a greenhouse gas (GHG), being produced.
Some say that methane is more potent than carbon dioxide, in terms of GHGs, and enough has been written about the benefits of GHG reduction but sufficed to say it is a good thing.
Officials are looking to extend the life of the landfill.
If Valmar reduced the amount of garbage with the program, it only stands to reason that expanding the service will reduce waste going to the landfill even more.
On top of that, there doesn’t have to be a lot done to the organic food waste as the RDKB currently has a yard and garden waste composting program in place and the food scraps can be put in with yard and garden waste for composting.
Back in January, RDKB Solid Waste Program Co-ordinator Tim Dueck said that Grand Forks was the first jurisdiction in Interior B.C. to test a food scraps recycling program and by all accounts, the test has received high marks.
It’s time to take it to the next step.