‘Oops Taggers’ ensure green cart program runs smoothly

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on June 23, 2023.

Herald file photo A organics collection truck sits parked outside of the new Organics Processing Facility.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com

After only one month of operation, the city is already touting the success of the curbside organics collection program.

James Nicholls, collections manager of the waste and environment department, said Thursday about 85 per cent of residents are participating so far.

“We’ve already diverted over 1,300 tons of curbside organics waste from the landfill, so some really encouraging numbers so early in the program, and we only hope that those numbers will continue to increase,” said Nicholls.

He said that even though the program is doing well, there are still a few things that are making their way to the green bins that should not be in there.

“We are working on our education and outreach, to connect with folks, to let them know that certain items like those in plastics and what are deemed to be compostable plastics, shouldn’t actually be going into the green cart.”

For example, large amounts of landscaping soil and rocks were found in one cart.

“Grass clippings are great and we’re seeing a lot of that. That’s a really encouraging sign that people are taking the right steps, taking the grass clippings, branches and leaves, from any of their spring cleanup and putting them into the green cart.”

Nicholls noted there are workers who follow the collection routes specifically to educate residents about what is and isn’t permitted in the green carts.

“We have a team – we call them oops taggers – that actually go out to the various routes, and as the name entails, they will go and will write a little note onto the cart if they notice certain items that have been placed in, and again we’re really focused on education and outreach,” said Nicholls.

He said that unless they see an egregious example where a green cart is just full of black bags, or a battery, or things that should not be in the green cart, they will just leave a tag saying they will collect it this time, but please make sure that these items are removed the next time they come for collection.

“We would ask the residents just use the paper bags right now, the problem with the ones that claim to be compostable plastic bags is, that they don’t actually degrade during the processing process, so you end up with a lot of these micro-plastics at the end of the process, that end up ruining the material or degrading the quality of the material.”

Nicholls the program is generally going well and the city wants to thank residents for taking the time to divide their waste into the corresponding bins, especially since it is a new way of dealing with their waste and it could be confusing sometimes.

“We’ve noticed quite quickly that people have learned and adapted to the program; they found ways to mitigate issues like material sticking to the sides of the cart. We know that this is a significant change in how people handle their waste. I know myself personally, I catch myself on a daily basis still wondering which place this particular item needs to go and we know that that’s what everyone throughout the city is going through as well.”

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