WATERLOO REGION - Garbage going to the landfill has dropped by nearly one-third since new waste collection rules were implemented in Waterloo Region a year ago.

The volume of green bin organics is up by 120 per cent, and all forms of curbside recycling are up too.

"It has been a tremendous success by any measure," regional Coun. Sean Strickland said Tuesday.

Blue box recycling increased by eight per cent, yard waste by four per cent. Waste going to landfill decreased by 29 per cent.

"The numbers speak for themselves," said Coun. Tom Galloway, chair of the region's planning and works committee.

The new collection schedule introduced last March standardized pickup across the region with garbage collected on alternate weeks, and recycling and green bins picked up at the curb every week.

"We went into the project with a fair bit of trepidation," Galloway said. "But it has turned out quite well."

Questions to the waste call centre peaked in March 2017 around the launch of the new program. Since July, there has been a significant drop in calls, indicating that residents understand the collection rules and adopted new habits. Call volume is now trending at less than 2016 levels.

Other support tools were also introduced to help residents find collection information, including the My Waste app and electronic newsletter. The app has more than 38,000 mobile and online users and the newsletter has more than 2,300 subscribers.

Galloway thanked the community for embracing the changes that are saving money and extending the life of the local landfill. Generally, he said, residents see it as providing better service in the region.

"The stacking of containers is going over really well as an extra little service," Galloway said.

Boosting green bin use was a big goal of the changes, and those numbers quickly rose after the changes were implemented last spring.

Green bin organics up to the maximum 20,000 tonnes continue to be processed by the City of Guelph. As well, the region recently contracted Walker Environmental Group, through its facility in Arthur, for the processing of the remaining tonnage received.

When the new garbage bag limits and bi-weekly collection program were approved, there was concern that roadside dumping would increase substantially. However, a report given to regional committee on Tuesday said that has not occurred; area municipalities reported 26 issues in 2016 and 29 issues in 2017.

Since the launch, an estimated 80 calls have been received across the region for "driveway dumping," which is when citizens dump extra bags at a neighbouring location on collection days.

More than 5,500 sheets of garbage tags were bought last year; 20 per cent of them were online sales. About 350 homes have a medical exemption and 436 loads were brought into the clear bag diaper drop-off for no charge at the Cambridge and Waterloo locations.

For the rest of the year, regional staff plan to continue educational efforts, including on two-box sorting of recycling, and do curbside waste audits to understand what recyclable materials remain in garbage bags and the potential to move to a three-bag limit in the future.

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