By Steve Hubrecht
Invermere is another step closer to having a municipal composting program.
Although such a program is still nearly a year away from launching, what the program could look like is now a little clearer after Invermere council opted for residential curbside pickup over neighbourhood collection bins.
District of Invermere officials have been talking about a local composting program for years, but the idea has recently gotten a good deal more traction. That’s because the Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK)’s composting facility in Athalmer is finally near completion. This facility is key, since that’s where all the compost collected from homes will end up.
During the summer the district ran a survey asking residents if they preferred curbside pickup (just like garbage and recycling) or if they wanted communal neighbourhood bins for organic waste. Both approaches have been used in other communities in the East Kootenay and in nearby parts of Alberta, and both have met with success.
A total of 186 residents responded to the survey. For the neigbourhood collection bins, 52 per cent of respondents said they were either likely or very likely to use them, while 48 per cent said they were unlikely or very unlikely to use them. For curbside collection, 75 per cent of respondents said they were likely or very likely to use it (if it included yard waste), 15 per cent were uninterested or very uninterested, and 10 per cent were neutral. Some 63 per cent of respondents, however, did indicate concerns about the potential for wildlife conflicts with curbside collection.
Council read through the survey results, and weighed the pros and cons of eight different options for curbside collection during its Tuesday, Sept. 10 committee of the whole meeting. Councillors preferred curbside collection and directed staff to gather more details on how it could work. Of the eight options for bins, councillors favoured the 120-litre Schaefer bear-resistant bins that are used in Golden for garbage collection. These bins have metal clips and metal around the edges, which make it quite difficult (although not 100 per cent impossible) for wildlife to get in.
The eight bin options ranged in price from $8.50 per bin to $449 per bin. Not surprisingly, the more expensive bins sounded more robust and harder for bears (or other wildlife) to get into. But as Invermere councillor Kayja Becker noted, the only truly bear-proof bins are the enormous metal latching ones welded to the ground that are used as garbage bins all over downtown Invermere (which are not at all practical for residential use).
Of the eight options, the Schaefer bin council favoured was the midpoint in terms of price. Still, the total cost for the 1,600 bins the district will need for curbside organic waste collection comes to roughly $430,000 — well in excess of the grant money that Invermere has so far received for its composting program.
Exactly where the extra money might come from, what the total cost of the program might be, and how residents will pay for it have yet to be decided and will be the subject of a report from Invermere environmental planner Amy Fletcher later this fall.
“Nothing is set in stone yet,” Fletcher cautioned.
Even if things proceed without any hitches, and council gives the green light to the composting program at the first opportunity, the earliest that curbside composting could be a reality in Invermere is next summer.
