OLDS – If you use biodegradable bags in your residential compost bin or put half-empty flammable cooking spray bottles in your garbage bin, you are disposing of waste wrong in Olds.
And technically, if you put your bins out to the curb before 7 p.m. the night before your scheduled pickup day, you are also in contravention of the town’s new waste management bylaw.
Town of Olds’ director of Infrastructure, Adrian Pedro, clarified these and other wide-ranging questions from council members during their deliberation of updating the town’s 2005 waste management bylaw last week.
Much has changed in the 19 years since the waste bylaw was enacted, according to Pedro.
The impetus for updating the bylaw was spurred by the most recent change: discontinuation of community grass bin service in favour of weekly residential green bin pick up from April 1 to Nov. 1.
Rollout bin schedules now form part of the bylaw as well as new timing requirements that several councillors questioned.
Collection bins are to be put out no later than 7 a.m. on collection day and no earlier than 7 p.m. the night previous. They are to be removed from the collection point no later than 7 p.m. on the day of collection.
“I find this kind of funny. You’re asking people to not put their bins out any earlier than 7 p.m. the day before collection. First of all I find that that would be totally unenforceable because if you drive around town, even on my own street, and I’ve done it before, I’ve put my bin out many, many, many times before 7 o’clock,” said Coun. Heather Ryan.
“It just seems to be that people put it out in the morning the day before, some people put it out at midnight the day before but I think it’s something that’s unenforceable,” Ryan said.
Chief administrative officer Brent Williams told council the timings wouldn’t be enforced and that the bylaw included no fines for contravention, adding it was more of an advisement to residents.
The intent, Willams clarified, is in part to ensure bins don’t disrupt road maintenance activities. It also lowers the risk of wind events knocking bins over and limits the amount of time potentially odorous bins are on the curbside.
Most of the questions council members asked during the discussion related to the inclusion in the bylaw of lists of acceptable waste for each different collection bin.
Both Ryan and Coun. Wanda Blatz were surprised to learn that compost is not to be placed in a biodegradable or plastic bags as they themselves had been doing. Only compostable paper bags are acceptable.
Pedro said compost facilities made the change relatively recently.
“Probably the question I get asked most often: where do I put my glass, my non-refundable glass?" Coun Darren Wilson asked to which Pedro replied in the waste bin.
Mayor Judy Dahl said in her neighbourhood, she is asked a lot about where flammable cooking spray containers like Pam are supposed to be disposed of.
If the containers are completely empty, Pedro said they should be placed in the waste bin.
“If there is material in them, technically they are considered hazardous product and should be dealt with appropriately either at the proper facility or in the town’s hazardous waste collection program that we’re working on,” said Pedro.
Blatz said she would like to see the town roll out an education component for waste.
“That could eliminate a lot of questions we all receive in regards to this,” she said.
