A report from the city’s administration highlighting the city’s 2017 waste and landfill numbers was received as information by the environment, utilities and corporate services committee meeting today. The report says 83,300 people visited the landfill in 2017, a decrease from 2016 which saw 91,400 people visit the landfill. During the year 153,850 tonnes of material was accepted at the landfill. For residential garbage collection 52,000 tonnes of garbage was collected with 2.6 million individual black carts. As for the city’s diversion rate, it sat at 22.8 per cent in 2017, an increase of 1 per cent from 2016. The city has a goal of 70 per cent waste diversion by the year 2023.

Some of the city’s waste management initiatives include:

-Four recycling depots

-Two compost depots

-Home composting education

-Curbside collection and recycling collection for single-family homes

-Garbage collection for many multi-unit and commercial customers

-Subscription based curbside food and yard waste collections

The city’s waste diversion programs and initiatives diverted approximately 27,900 tonnes of materials from landfills in 2017.