In with the frost, out with the flowers.
Cochranites intent on spending the weekend bagging up their summer garden remains should be reminded that while they are welcome to bring their bagged leaves, grass clippings and tree trimmings on down to the Cochrane Eco-Centre, they can no longer bring their sod, soil or rocks to the Town of Cochrane for disposal.
The former fall and spring clean-up programs, which ran throughout the months of May and October, were officially eliminated this past spring due to a number of factors. Cochrane green thumbs will likely remember the program, which was implemented in the late 1990s and saw 5 to 10 per cent of Cochrane households bringing their bagged soil, rocks and plants down by the Spray Lake Sawmills (SLS) Centre, where the remains would then be carted off to a Calgary landfill, courtesy of the town.
But Sharon Howland, manager of waste and recycling services for the Town of Cochrane, said there were a lot of flaws with the program.
“We had to staff two sites (by the SLS Centre and the Eco-Centre),” said Howland. “As well, we had to up the eco-services fee to pay for that.”
She continued on to explain that the staff shortage led to inadequate monitoring of the materials being brought in by Cochrane households; plenty of materials that should have been recycled were being carted off as trash — a costly expenditure for the town.
“We’ve seen our numbers quadruple in how much waste and materials we’ve been able to divert,” said Howland, explaining the benefits for Cochrane households to now be able to take their garden remains — less the soil, sod and rocks — to the Eco-Centre for a full eight months of the year.
The former cost to Cochrane households has gone down from $5.57 to $4.75 since the services switched; this decrease has allowed the program to expand and has resulted in a significant reduction in waste, according to Howland.
“What’s the value to the community?” said Howland, explaining that with only 5 to 10 per cent of Cochrane households using the former spring and fall clean-ups, feedback from the community has improved since the services have changed.
She also explained that the cost of $140 per metric ton for Cochrane garbage trucks to haul the waste to a Calgary landfill was a massive expense; also, each load had to be tested for contaminants prior to being accepted by the landfill.
The closest landfill for Cochranites to take their soil, sod and rocks to is Calgary Spyhill Land Fill.
Christmas trees will be accepted from Dec. 25 through to mid-February 2013.
