The Town of Turner Valley is taking a regional approach to garbage collection by joining a seven-month pilot program with two neighbouring communities this year.
Turner Valley town council agreed to participate in a regional curbside garbage collection pilot program with Okotoks and Black Diamond from June 2 to Dec. 31. The decision was made at council’s April 20 meeting following Black Diamond council’s decision to participate at its meeting five days prior.
During the pilot project’s duration, garbage will be collected in one day (Tuesdays) rather than two and small tracking devices costing $4 each will be placed on the existing bins, Turner Valley chief administrative officer Todd Sharpe told council.
“Cart management services provides access to collection data from each household, using specialized software,” he said, adding the new system will track errors in service and other collection details. “It’s a better service.”
The cost of the pilot project is estimated at $10 per month for each of the 1,165 households. Although the 2020 budgeted cost for garbage collection under the existing system is about $12 per month, the Town will continue charging $14 until the new cost of service can be established.
Sharpe said the existing garbage truck, owned jointly between Turner Valley and Black Diamond, will be rented to the Town of Okotoks throughout the pilot project. Okotoks will also cover maintenance costs, he said.
In addition, the employee currently collecting Turner Valley’s garbage will be deployed to an asset management project throughout the pilot project, Sharpe said.
In 2018, the Towns of Okotoks, Turner Valley, Black Diamond, High River, Nanton and Foothills County received an inter-municipal collaboration grant to continue examining options for regional waste management programs, according to details in Turner Valley’s agenda package.
The Town of Okotoks acted as the managing partner for the grant and a technical advisory group was created to represent the technical experts in each municipality. The group worked with civic engineering firm GHD to develop the Regional Solid Waste Management Plan, which provides a long-term vision for solid waste management within each community including waste reuse, reduction, recycling, recovery and residual management activities.
Last fall, Turner Valley council directed administration to work with the participating partner administrations to develop an agreement and implementation time.
For the duration of the pilot project, the Town of Okotoks, which will serve as the operator, will provide monthly reports on the number of inquiries and complaints, missed collections, landfill tonnage and number of carts damaged and replaced, as well as conduct reviews at the three and five-month mark.
Okotoks waste services manager Paul Lyons told council through a conference that he will reconnect with administration and council following the pilot project’s completion to go over the reports, at which time the Town can decide whether to proceed with the project for its solid waste collection, as well as explore the potential for regional recycling and composting options.
Turner Valley Mayor Barry Crane told Lyons he looks forward to working with the Town of Okotoks in the pilot project and into the future.
To learn about Black Diamond’s council’s decision to go ahead with the pilot project visit https://www.okotokstoday.ca/wheels-west/black-diamond-partnering-with-okotoks-in-pilot-program-2256129
