Ever since Regens Disposal began its recycling program in Estevan last fall, the figures regarding what we send to the landfill and what we recycle have become incredibly clear.
The curbside recycling service was rolled out in October 2013, and so far, the acceptance among residents has been consistent.
Regens picks up, on average, 36,178 kilograms of recycled material each month, but that's still significantly dwarfed by what gets thrown away. The sum weight of all recycled material from October to May doesn't quite equal the amount of trash picked up in October 2013 alone, when 295,862 kg was trucked to the landfill, though that month was a particular trash high, as the average garbage picked up each month from October 2013 to May 2014 was about 206,672 kg.
Logan Baniulis, of Regens Disposal, is pleased with the numbers and the adoption among residents of the recycling program.
"It's as good or better than anywhere. It's almost staggering how similar the participation rates are from town to town," he said. "The 11 kilograms per cart is almost a constant."
He said recycling carts are a little heavier in Estevan than some of the neighbouring communities his company services, and he attributes that to the regular distribution of newspapers in the city.
He said they also find contamination to be higher in Estevan.
"I just think, we pick up that many more carts (in Estevan) and one contaminated cart spreads throughout a load, and it's a mess," added Baniulis.
Baniulis said it's also important for users to remember what is and isn't acceptable material to place in the recycling bins. With the spring moving into summer, there have been a number of incidents around grass clippings or individuals placing compostable waste in the bins.
"We've dumped a few loads of grass in the truck, and we've had to not empty a few because of that kind of thing," said Baniulis, who noted they may send out an information package to residents reminding them of what goods are meant for the recycling bins and what goods aren't.
He added that the Estevan program has perhaps led to greater curbside recycling interest in the area.
"With the City providing this service to its residents, we found it really spurred quite an interest in the surrounding area."
Since the Estevan program began, Regens have delivered single-stream containers to Macoun, Midale, Radville, Stoughton and Fillmore.
Adding the recycling service has led to a notable decrease in the weight of trash bins around the city and surrounding areas.
"After delivering the recycle carts, we were able to see a small decrease in the weight of the garbage carts, not a huge amount, but there was a noticeable decrease," he said. The Estevan recycling bins produce, on average, 17.5 per cent of what is sent to the landfill.
Baniulis said because the numbers weren't as closely documented prior to rolling out the curbside recycling service, they don't know exactly how much the recycling program has led to a decrease in trash.
"If you think about it this way, all the people who didn't recycle but do now, we're getting 11 kilograms per cart that was going in the garbage before," said Baniulis. He noted the primary trend in the recycling is consistency. As garbage pick up hit lows in January, February and March, so too did recycling pick up, with higher numbers in the spring and fall.
"There's always a trend, and I would say it has just been a good consistent use of the service," he said, noting the use in some ways is predictably inconsistent.
While the overall weight of recycling material remains steady, rising and falling with trash numbers each month, the bins account for only a quarter of the number of trash bins collected. That's in part because the recycling bins are picked up only half as frequently and also due to some households not necessarily needing to empty their bins every other week as per the retrieval schedule.
Baniulis said he may not take his recycling bin to the curb if he thinks it can handle another two weeks of recycled waste, but he won't miss a week of taking his trash bin to the curb. Not necessarily because it's always full, but because it contains more material that might give off a foul smell. He said he probably isn't alone in that regard.
Regens now sends a monthly report to the City of Estevan with the number of bins picked up for both recycling and trash, the total weights of each as well as any issues with bins that have led to maintenance or replacement of a bin.
Generally, the issues around the bins involve damaged lids but some other issues do arise, and Regens replaces those at no charge to the homeowner.
"We're always replacing containers that are damaged, and we encourage residents to phone in and inform us of a damaged cart," said Baniulis. "It's our equipment and we want it looking good, so encourage people to call us."
