The municipality of Chatham-Kent is seeking continued input on the organic waste diversion program feasibility study.
Residents are being asked to complete an online survey before July 15, to have their voices heard to shape exactly what the program will look like.
"An organic waste diversion program will go on no matter what. How that looks like exactly might be different," said manager of waste management for the municipality of Chatham-Kent, Huda Oda.
This survey adds to a discussion that was put forth by the municipality early this year that asked residents to give their input on what they would like to see with a green bin program. Oda said the response from that discussion was overwhelmingly positive, and the questions in this survey reflect the issues, concerns, and positive feedback people put forth back in February.
"That was more to put the word out, that it was in front of [Chatham-Kent] Council and we were working on this... what we've done since then is a lot of research, the team has worked on reviews... looked at our data, talked to different municipalities and their services and what that might look like for Chatham-Kent," said Oda.
Ontario's food and organic waste policy statement mandated Chatham-Kent to reduce food and organic waste from landfills by 50 per cent by 2025.
"Unfortunately we are not going to be able to meet that deadline, but we are going to try our best to do so. If the province asks, we are able to show effort. The fact of the matter is any contract now in the waste management sector cannot be transitioned from an award of a contract to an actual implementation in less than 18 months. A lot of time it's 24 months. That's just the experience of everyone in the sector right now because of supply chain issues," explained Oda.
Some of the specific questions that will be asked in this survey include ones about the green bin program, what residents' concerns are, what can be put in the green bin -- including diapers and pet waste -- and going from a weekly garbage collection to a bi-weekly collection. The survey will also include questions about yard waste collection and what that will or could look like in the future.
The study results and recommendations will be presented to Council for review and approval in early 2025.