The City of North Battleford has agreed to a city-wide event in June to attempt to divert items that might otherwise end up in the landfill.
The plan is for a Free Curbside Giveaway weekend June 9 and 10, running between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. each day.
Details were outlined in a memo to council, as well as in a presentation by Stewart Schafer at their meeting Monday.
The idea is for residents to place a number of acceptable items they wish to dispose of, such as books, CDs, dishes, kitchen gadgets, furniture items and so on, on the edge of their yards and marked as “free.”
Others would then be free to take those items away on those days. Items not taken must be removed after the event is over for the day, otherwise they could be subject to the City’s Waste Management bylaw.
Some items would not be acceptable for the giveaway. These include appliances, child-related items such as walkers and playpens, and other items that might pose safety concerns.
Similar events have been happening in cities across Canada such as Ottawa, Winnipeg and Halifax, for a number of years. This event is being introduced to North Battleford as a pilot project. If the rules are not followed, the City will not host it again.
If things go smoothly, it could become an annual occurrence. It would coincide with Environment Week which runs from June 5.
The ground rules will be communicated to residents before the event, and there will be no need for participants to fill out forms or register with the City prior to it.
Administration did propose that participants fill out an application form, mainly so they could state on the City’s website where the free items were located that weekend.
However, Councillor Kelli Hawtin questioned the need for an application form. “There’s a cost of servicing those applications,” said Hawtin, pointing to the stress placed on City staff.
“I support that thought,” said Councillor Len Taylor, who also didn’t want to see obstacles to the public participating in the giveaway.
“We shouldn’t create unnecessary stress for people trying to do it.”
Council unanimously approved the resolution to go ahead with the curbside giveaway weekend June 9 and 10.
