In the news this week, Gatineau City Council is spouting how great a city it is because we have not only met our recycling and composting targets, but exceeded them.
The city planners estimated they would collect 9000 tons of compost in the first year of the contract (since May 2010 actually), and we've actually exceeded their target by collecting 12,000 tons. They are also in full braggart mode over the fact that Gatineau is recycling and composting over 75% of all waste and saving money doing it.
The cost to Gatineau taxes payers to transport waste to the landfill site is $120 a ton, but composting costs only $70 a ton and recycling costs only $25 a ton. So combined we are saving $15 a ton of waste we create.
So why is this and are all the costs being included?
Gatineau City Council says we don't have to separate our blue bin recycling waste and that contributes to more recycling, but someone has to separate it, and are those employee costs included in the $100 a ton cost? Also, since we don't need to separate our recycling, it means we recycle more. The city says only 8% of all recycling is removed for one reason or another.
And what of the compost itself? Will residents be allowed to pick up bags of this black earth at no cost, or will we have to pay to get our waste back for gardening or planting?
I looked at the city of Gatineau's website and saw nothing but "root-toot, we recycle, we're the best, yay for us" content. In fact, even in the published budget for 2011, not a mention of waste collection or costs was tabled.
But it did say they would be reducing property tax 1.1% this year (more 'yay' for us)!!!
However, I find it discerning that our cost to transport waste out of the city to the landfill is $120 a ton yet to transport recycling and compost to a local facility is only $15 less per ton. Now I assume they are including all costs involved for this, such as municipal employees to pick up the roadside waste/recycling, cost of providing the large blue and brown bins we all use, cost of diesel/gasoline for trucks, fleet maintenance etc.
Since I can't seem to find any data online, I'll have to assume they are giving us accurate numbers.
However, these are great facts no matter how you look at it: We are putting 75% less waste into the landfill than in pre-recycling days, we are now producing good quality and controlled compost (hopefully free for residents and for sale outside the region), and reducing our environmental impact on the region.
Hopefully, we don't follow Ontario in the energy creation game they are playing and Gatineau continues to use sound logic in its recycling and composting contracts.
I still would like to know if all the costs associated with the program are being mentioned and if everything is above-board. So if anyone has any data, or website links, please post in the comments section below.
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