With the environment a growing concern by the day, people throughout the world are doing what they can to lessen their impact on nature.
Recycling has become a major part of that push and something a number of communities in the area have embraced with open arms.
However recycling in Estevan has a somewhat spotty history. Although the SARCAN operation in the community is excellent and well used by residents, recycling for other items, notably paper, has been a challenge.
For a period of time, Estevan Diversified Services ran a paper recycling depot but were forced to close it after people dumped garbage such as a deer carcass in the bins.
That forced the City of Estevan to set up a makeshift recycling depot on Sixth Street that is used for paper, newsprint and cardboard.
The City is now looking at implementing a curbside recycling program in Estevan and announced at the March 4 regular council meeting that they were finalizing the tender for waste collection and recycling and are looking at four different options to move forward with, two of which include a curbside program.
The first option would be to maintain the status quo of back alley waste collection where possible once a week and continue with curbside pickup in other areas. The plan also presents the option of having curbside recycling pickup every two weeks and back alley waste collection in applicable areas once a week. The final option is for curbside waste collection and curbside recycling every two weeks.
City manager Jim Puffalt said the purpose behind posing the various options is so they can go to the public and give them full information on what each of them will cost taxpayers.
The City has asked residents to present their feelings on both recycling and curbside garbage pickup to them. They have also planned a public meeting for late April where the public will hear about the options and have a chance to voice an opinion.
"We want to give people input into what are the options we should look at, what have we missed the idea of composting came up tonight and we had some discussion," he said.
Puffalt said by the time the meeting is held the City would also have a much better idea of what to expect from the recently announced multi-material recycling program.
In an effort to reduce the amount of waste in Saskatchewan landfills by more than 40 per cent, the province has created this plan to help communities put together recycling programs. Although the fine details have not been announced, there is speculation the province will pay as much as 75 per cent of the cost.
Such a move would obviously help cities like Estevan move forward with an enhanced recycling program, which is something many in the community have been asking for for years.
Currently all paper recycling - cardboard, newsprint, etc. - is done at the Sixth Street depot. While the location has provided a spot for residents to take their paper, it is not seen as a viable long-term solution. There have been complaints that the bins are not emptied often enough as well as issues with people dumping garbage in the bins.
Were the City to eventually decide to go with a curbside recycling program, they would look at something similar to which communities in the southeast already employ programs of their own.
Carlyle, Carnduff and Oxbow each have a curbside recycling program that has been in operation for varying lengths of time.
Along with their garbage bins, homeowners in the communities also have two bins which are placed at the curb twice a month. One bin is for paper, cardboard, newsprint and milk cartons while the other is for plastic, tin cans and milk jugs. All three programs are operated by Regens Disposal, the current garbage contractor for Estevan.
The town of Oxbow has had curbside recycling for roughly one year and community development officer Lorri Matthewson said although there are some who might prefer the old way of recycling, the majority of the residents are happy with the program.
"By and large the response has been very positive," she said.
Matthewson added that implementation of the program was a relatively smooth process, something she credited to the Town providing ample notification to taxpayers that the program was coming and providing the community with their opportunity to have a say on the matter.
As for why Oxbow went to curbside recycling, Matthewson, who wasn't directly involved in the decision, said the town council has made a commitment to continue to progress and find ways to improve their community.
"It fits in with the long term plan," she said. "I think if you don't do it you say something about your community as well. If you are going to progress, this is what the expectation is. We don't live in a local community anymore, we live in a global one. When people are looking for places to move into and relocate, I have to believe anything that shows a progression makes you attractive."
As a resident of Carlyle, Matthewson also has experience with curbside recycling as a homeowner. Matthewson said she "absolutely adores it," adding it is much better than the previous tag bag system the town used.
Under that program, residents would buy tags at the town office and were allowed to use one tag per garbage bag. Bags that were not tagged were not picked up.
"I didn't like that system at all in comparison, for all kinds of reasons," she said. "The recycling bins that Regens use don't blow open and garbage doesn't go all over the place and a dog can't get into it."
Matthewson added that prior to the curbside system, Carlyle went through a number of problems with their recyling including people placing garbage in recycling bins.
While detractors have made the point that having to remember to place the bins at the curb on the given day is an unwanted hassle, Matthewson said after a short while she was able to adjust.
"Over time it becomes (part of your routine)," she said. "At first there was a lot of getting out of the car and running back to take out a bin because the neighbours had taken out a bin and I forgot.
"Anytime you bring in a new system, there are going to be the detractors. But I think like anything else, you catch onto the routine of it and it just becomes something you do. It doesn't become any different than taking your garbage to the curb was."
Carnduff has long been known as one of the nicest and cleanest communities in the southeast and has been recognized with a handful of Community in Bloom awards for their efforts. The town also has a curbside recycling program, however the transition was not a smooth one as some residents were unhappy the Town did not hold a public consultation meeting and felt it was forced upon them.
Town administrator Annette Brown said now that the system has been in operation for awhile, residents "really appreciate it."
Brown said she has also seen the benefits for the community. Since they have been recycling for a number of years, they have noticed less waste being taken to their landfill site. She said since curbside recycling came in they have seen even less going to the landfill.
"We noticed that less was going to the dump a long time ago but more so now," she said. "I think it is a convenience for people because it is right at their house. Before we had those big bins and they had to drive it down there. It makes our town look cleaner and we were getting stuff that wasn't from our ratepayers, so this has put a stop to that. We also had a bit of vandalism and this put a stop to that."
The City of Estevan plans to hold a public meeting on curbside recycling and the possibility of moving garbage pickup to the curb in late April. A location has not been announced as of yet.
