Saint John is considering switching to curbside recycling, instead of depositing recyclable paper, plastics and cardboard at neighbourhood blue bin depots.
Resident Nick Munn says more people would be inclined to recycle correctly if they could do it closer to home.
“I think curbside would increase the percentage of recyclables that you would collect from inside the city,” says Munn.
In total, there are about 150 blue bins in the city, many of which are showing their age and need to be replaced, at a cost of about $10,000 each.
Facing a bill potentially in the millions of dollars, the Fundy Solid Waste Commission is considering other options, such as curbside recycling - a method used successfully in many other Maritime communities.
The Halifax area moved to curbside recycling in the 1990s, and a waste diversion committee in Saint John is now recommending a similar switch.
“What would happen is the blue depot sites around the region would be removed in place of this curbside collection,” says Fundy Solid Waste General Manager Marc MacLeod. “It’s one of the number one questions we get, when we are going to curbside?”
One estimate on the curbside collection project predicts Saint John taxpayers would have to pay an extra $75 a year for the curbside pick-up to last.
Some Saint John residents say they are OK with that because they spend around $75 a year on gasoline getting to and from the blue bins anyway,
“I think curbside would be wonderful,” says Peter Heffernan. “Save me a lot of effort and save a lot of dirt collecting and mess around these places.”
The final decision on whether recycling in Saint John will move from blue bins to curbside rests with municipal councils in the area.
