City Asks: How Does Kingston Reach 65 per cent Waste Diversion?

Published on: 2019/04/08 - in Releases

RELEASE — What should be implemented to divert more waste? The City of Kingston is looking for new strategies that can be implemented to capture more organics, recyclables, yard waste – and other items that can be diverted – out of your weekly garbage that goes to landfill.

“We got to 60 per cent, which is amazing and better than most other cities, but diversion has flatlined. We know Kingston households can do better – that’s why council set a goal in 2015 to divert 65 per cent of household waste from landfill by 2025. But we need to hear from households and other stakeholders of residential properties about what kinds of strategies should be implemented to make sure that everyone is using their recycling boxes and green bin to divert as much waste as possible from landfill,” says Heather Roberts, director, solid waste.

“What’s It Going To Take?”

She stresses that waste diversion helps capture items that can be composted, reused or recycled and kept out of landfill where they produce toxic leachate affecting soil and waterways as well as methane and carbon dioxide – greenhouse gases associated with climate change.

“What’s it going to take to reach this goal?” Roberts asks. “Results from waste composition audits show that we could divert up to 50 per cent of what’s in a typical Kingston garbage bag – resulting in a 76 per cent waste diversion rate – so we know achieving the goal of 65 per cent is absolutely attainable.”

Offer Your Waste Strategies Now

Go to GetInvolved.CityofKingston.ca to offer your ideas by answering the questions below by May 17:

What strategies should be implemented to capture more divertible items from waste sent to landfill?

  • How do we reduce curbside garbage?
  • How do we encourage more recycling?
  • How do we capture more organic waste?
  • How else can we divert more curbside waste from landfill?

You can also sign-up to show your interest in participating in an upcoming focus group or workshop.

Your input will be used to develop a long list of options for further review and input over the summer, both online and at community events. Then, the City will hold open houses to present the short list of options ahead of drafting recommendations for review by the environment, infrastructure and transportation policies committee. The final waste strategies will be incorporated into the City’s Integrated Waste Management Plan and implemented.

Find out more about what is and is not working with Kingston’s current waste diversion strategies at CityofKingston.ca/WasteStrategies. Share your everyday waste reduction ideas and successes at #WasteNotYGK.


Release: City of Kingston (video added April 21)
Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Zaf (cc)