Kamloops council agrees to try out weekly organics collection this winter

Kamloops council has agreed to switch up the organics collection this winter.

Earlier this week, councillors voted in favour of changing to weekly collection from Dec. 1 to the end of February.

Currently, the collection schedule, which was adopted last December, is biweekly during the winter.

“The average daily weight of organics collected during the weekly collection period is 54% higher than during the biweekly collection period,” the staff report said.

The report also indicated that some residents expressed a desire to have weekly organics collections year-round.

Coun. Hall agreed that there were challenges within the first year of organics collection, particularly during the holiday season.

“We tried it one way, why don’t we try it another way and then at the end of next year, evaluate which is better being that we’re fairly new into this system,” he said.

Coun. Bepple thought keeping the current schedule met the needs of the community.

“It has worked well in the past year, it meets the needs of the community and I don’t think we’re in a position right now to expand services,” she noted.

Coun. Middleton said she had the same thoughts.

Coun. Neustaeter asked about the financial implications.

Staff said they weren’t suggesting a rate increase for the weekly collection during the winter and that the “relatively small dollar value” could come out of the solid waste reserve.

Staff added that they could report back the following year whether or not a rate increase was needed but did indicate switching to weekly organics collection year-round could cost $30-$40,000.