Some condo owners still in dark as blue box recycling program takes effect
原始发布日期： 2016-02-01 发布者：李方字变大 字变小
Randy Bobyk with Condo Recycling Solutions drops off recycle bins at a Calgary condo building. Leah Hennel / Calgary Herald And once that deadline passes, the city will launch a new campaign to make recycling mandatory for all businesses and organizations. “I’m getting a lot of calls, a lot of questions right now,” says Coun. Ward Sutherland, who represents a number of mixed development, inner-city communities in the northwest’s Ward 1. “There’s still a lot of confusion out there. A lot of condo owners are still thinking the city is going to do this for them. “Once the bylaw is in effect, my assistant and I will have to tour the community and make sure all the building owners are complying.” Thanks to a bylaw passed by council nearly 18 months ago, all multi-family housing complexes, including apartments and condo buildings, must provide on-site recycling for residents by Feb. 1 through a private recycler. Sutherland says while many larger condo buildings, associations and boards have already complied, some smaller building owners with only 10 to 12 units are still not recycling. Once the bylaw kicks in, enforcement will only occur as a result of private complaints, meaning some buildings may remain unchanged because residents will be accustomed to the status quo. “It’s something that’s really important, that we have to get on board with. It’s the future,” said Sutherland, adding that the life of a landfill is doubled in communities that recycle. At the same time, private recyclers say they have seen an uptake in businesses since the passing of the bylaw, particularly in the past several weeks as condo boards and associations make last-minute arrangements. “We’ve definitely been busier, there’s a lot of apartments and condos coming on board and many are aware of the deadline,” said Randall Bobyk, owner of Condo Recycling Solutions. “They’re just getting information, getting set up,” he added, estimating an additional 50 customers have been added to his business. Apartment and condo residents are charged anywhere between $1 and $2 a week for private recycling services, Bobyk estimates, compared to the $8 monthly fee single-family homes pay for city pickup. Last year, when city officials launched an awareness campaign — including mailing out information, conducting meetings and making presentations to condo associations — they confirmed about 35 per cent of apartment and condo building owners were providing recycling. But a survey in September 2015 found only a five per cent increase in compliance, showing about 40 per cent of condo owners were on board at that time. “There are still owners looking for information and learning what they need to do before the deadline,” said Parnell Legg, the city’s multi-family recycling project manager with waste and recycling services. The awareness campaign spent $700,000 on advertising and education in its first year, and will continue to spend $350,000 annually on management and enforcement. If city bylaw receives a complaint, they will first provide a warning as a means of education. If there is still no compliance, owners could face a fine of about $250. Once condo recycling is in place, the city will push for businesses and organizations to recycle all of their materials under a new bylaw that kicks in Nov. 1, 2016. Leanne Michie, city waste-diversion specialist, says up to 88 per cent of waste now in city landfills is easily recyclable. “This is a huge opportunity. We have to get to the point where this is just expected by everyone in the community, whether it’s businesses themselves, their employees and the customers. “If someone is in a store and they have nowhere to recycle their receipt, we want to hear from them.” Businesses and organizations that will have to comply by Nov. 1 include any commercial business, company or organization that produces waste, including property management companies, hospitals, schools, offices, stores, malls, restaurants, hotels, manufacturers, factories, non-profit organizations, places of worship, warehouses and other operations. eferguson@postmedia.com (Calgary Herald) |