The town of Carlyle, along with Regens Disposal Ltd., where honoured recently with the Saskatchewan Waste Reduction Council's partnership award for their combined efforts in reducing landfill material with the curb-side recycling program adopted by the community almost two years ago.
The Saskatchewan Waste Reduction Council (SWRC) is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization which holds as its mandate the reduction of waste within the province.
By supporting partnerships, recognizing innovations, and sharing information with communities, businesses, and individuals, the SWRC also provides government information in an attempt to ensure that policies are adopted that will reduce the overall solid waste produced throughout Saskatchewan.
Carlyle had been informed of its victory in the partnership category two weeks previous to the award presentation, which took place in Regina on Thursday, April 19.
Attending on behalf of the town was Carlyle's mayor, Don Shirley.
"I'm really proud of the community winning this award,ö Shirley said. "I think it's a great way to recognize the work the town has done in improving our services, and the efforts of our residents to make use of the recycling services that are now available."
When Carlyle's curb-side recycling program had been first introduced, it was the smallest community in the province to offer such a service to its residents.
Now several other communities have adopted a similar system for recycling collection, offered through Regens Disposal Ltd.
"Regens was been great to work with," Shirley said. ôWe spent a lot of time with them working on a program which would be sustainable, and offer the greatest service for our residents."
"As a partnership award, I think it's fair to say we couldn't have won this recognition without them," Shirley joked.
With Regens providing the town with solid waste removal as well as the recycling services, it has been easy to track the reduction in household waste over the past two years.
Regens provides statistics to the town on a regular basis, on how many bins of garbage and recyclables are collected every trip, and what the average kilo weight is for each bin.
For example, in March of 2010, 365 carts of solid waste were collected in the town, with an average weight of 17.85 kgs per cart.
The following year, March saw 352 carts collected, with the average weight of 16.92 kgs per cart.
This works out to a reduction of almost one kilogram per household.
While the curb-side recycling program wasn't instituted until June of 2010, recent statistics for curb-side recycled materials has also shown an increase.
As an example, in November of 2010, 259 carts of fibre (paper products) averaged 8.61 kgs of material, and 150 carts of plastic and metals averaged 3.05 kgs per cart, in November of this past year 266 carts of fibre were collected at an average of 9.09 kgs per cart, and 201 carts of plastic and tin were collected at 3.63 kgs per cart, an overall increase of around one kilogram per household.
In a letter dated Jan. 20 of this year, Logan Baniulis, who runs the recycling services for Regens Disposal, wrote to Carlyle town council, "On behalf of Regens Disposal I would like to thank Council for the opportunity to become and active member of the Carlyle community."
"Regens Disposal remains committed to providing our customers with innovative waste & recycling solutions while maintaining a high level of Service Excellence," the letter further reads.
"In closing, the Regens Disposal Team looks forward to continuing to nurture the growing relationship with the Town of Carlyle and to provide the residents a consistent, effective, and clean waste and recycling experience," the letter concludes.
Warm words perhaps, but speaking with Baniulis following the awards presentation, the same positive tones are echoed.
"I'm happy for the residents of Carlyle more than my team,"Baniulis said. "The town of Carlyle recognized it was working for the residents of the town, and they were always aware that everything they were doing was paid for by the people of the town."
"I think Carlyle should be very proud of this award," Baniulis continued. "They've been pioneers, not just for the Southeast, but for all of rural Saskatchewan."
"They've showed that a modern recycling program is not just a service for the big cities."
Baniulis also offered support for residents directly.
"We've always encouraged councillors and administrators to forward calls and questions directly on to us," Baniulis said. "We're happy to help people understand the services we offer, and we're always happy to hear from residents."
"That is how our services get better."
For people interested in further recycling information, the SWRC website holds a considerable amount of information on waste reduction and recycling, and can be found at "http://www.saskwastereduction.ca" www.saskwastereduction.ca
