Kamloops organic waste collection program diverts nearly 50% of waste from landfill

On Tuesday, during a committee of the whole meeting, Kamloops City Council will be reviewing the city’s organic waste collection pilot program.

The pilot program launched in September 2021 and included about 2,500 homes across five neighbourhoods.

In a report headed to council, administration staff explain that the average diversion rate for these areas, based on total organic waste diverted from the landfill between October 20201 and March 2022, was 43%.

Before the program launched, the average diversion rate on the select pilot routes was estimated at just under 20%.

The first audit of the program was completed in December 2021 and found that pilot routes set out 24% less total waste, including both garbage and organics, and 74% less garbage than routes not on the program.

Residents on the pilot routes had 98% compostable material in their organics cart, with a 1.6% contamination rate in the organics carts.

The report explains that the data collected through the pilot program shows that “a community-wide organics collection program could potentially divert approximately 6,000 tonnes of organic waste from landfill each year, reducing the amount of waste going to the Mission Flats Landfill by 10% and extending the life of the landfill by three years.”

When the program launched, the city decided to use a model similar to other municipalities. This included weekly organic waste collection with alternating biweekly garbage and recycling collection.

Two surveys were held during the first phase of the pilot program and most participants supported the organic waste collection (79% to 77%). However, one of the top concerns was the switch to biweekly pickup of garbage and recycling.

City staff explain that this was also one of the key takeaways from the pilot program.

Despite a “robust” communication plan that included two months of letters, notices and direct engagement, staff made a last minute decision to collect all three waste carts on a weekly basis for the first two weeks of the program to allow residents to adjust to the schedule changes.

“Upon full implementation, administration will need to be prepared for an adjustment period to ensure broad-scale awareness of the changes during the first few weeks,” reads the report.

Staff's report explains that they will be seeking authorization from city council to approve the community-wide collection program before the completion of the pilot program.

They say this is due to ongoing supply chain disruptions, shortage impacting operations and the positive findings in the first six months of the year long pilot program.

The city is planning to begin city-wide organic waste collection by September 2023.