A combined organic waste diversion program is up for approval at the next Chatham-Kent council meeting.
On Monday night, councillors will be discussing a backyard composter program, a standardized curbside leaf and yard waste collection program, and a pilot depot food waste digester program to better meet provincial government mandates and to reduce organic waste in the municipality by 50 per cent in urban settlements.
CK Manager of Waste Management Huda Oda said the capital costs of the recommendations are estimated at nearly $4.3 million and the operating costs are pegged at almost $2.2 million.
"It will enable the Municipality to comply with provincial legislation," Oda wrote in her report. "Further, this program presents residents with both food waste and yard waste management solutions. Operationally, it will allow for a more streamlined collection system of yard waste, improved cost control, and performance management."
The capital costs would be funded from the multi-year one-time budget and reserves while the operating costs would be funded by taxpayers.
Oda said the organic waste diversion recommendations would have minimum tax increase implications to non-curbside residents, who are mostly rural residents, as the majority of the annual costs are area-rated for those getting the service.
Oda noted seven waste collectors/equipment operators, one dispatcher, one supervisor of operations, and a project manager would need to be hired if the new program is approved.
The backyard composter program would be implemented next year and interested residents would be able to buy the composters for $20 each.
Standardized curbside leaf and yard waste collection, excluding Ridgetown and Thamesville, is set to start in 2027.
According to Oda's report, all urban curbside communities would get bi-weekly collection of bagged leaf and yard waste and brush bundles from April to November with two extra collections in January for Christmas trees.
A depot food waste digester pilot program is scheduled for implementation in 2028 at the Harwich Depot for one year and could be expanded to more depots if it's viable.
Oda noted the program will improve the diversion rate for curbside communities from 31 per cent to 51 per cent and the overall Chatham-Kent diversion rate from 39 per cent to 53 per cent.
"Non-curbside residents, who primarily reside in rural areas, divert more organic materials from the landfill in comparison to curbside residents, who live in urban areas," said Oda. "This suggests that non-curbside residents manage and sort their household waste significantly better, which aligns with behaviour trends of depot users and anecdotal evidence of large amounts of waste being burnt or composted in rural areas."
A green bin program to collect food waste at the curb is not being recommended at this time because Oda said it's too expensive and too complicated to implement.
If the combined organic waste diversion program gets the green light, staff will start hiring employees, buying trucks, equipment, and backyard composter devices, while also designing collection routes.