Deltans soon won't be allowed to toss their kitchen scraps in with their regular garbage.
Delta's engineering department is working on a new program for residents to dispose of those scraps in a more ecologically friendly manner, something other municipalities are also undertaking.
In her inaugural address last month, Mayor Lois Jackson noted Delta is moving forward with the implementation of a full-scale food waste curbside collection program for single-family homes in 2012.
She said judging by Delta's high recycling participation rates, she knows the program will be successful here.
Engineering director Steven Lan told the Optimist a report on a proposed organics collection program would be coming to Delta council by February.
Delta participated in a pilot project within Ladner in conjunction with the regional district, but a deal wasn't signed afterward to have such a service Delta-wide.
At a council meeting last fall, Lan noted the pilot project collected an average of less than one kilogram of kitchen waste per household. He said Delta residents might need time to get used to the concept.
At the Metro Vancouver level, a recent report to region's waste management committee had a series of recommendations when it comes to organics, including bylaws requiring mandatory separation of organics for recycling by residents and businesses.
A separate report to the committee notes food scraps and wood are the largest material categories in the waste stream. However, food waste has decreased overall, likely as a result of collection programs being introduced by more municipalities and businesses.
"In recent years, municipalities in the region have made improvements to their solid waste and recycling programs. Many have implemented residential food scrap collection programs in conjunction with Metro Vancouver's regional compositing facility," the report notes.
"Now, over half of the single-family households in the region have municipal food scrap collection services. Other municipalities have started bi-weekly garbage collection as a further incentive to increase recycling and composting. There are also municipalities that are piloting food scraps collection for multi-family residents."
The provincial government last summer approved Metro Vancouver's new Solid Waste Management Plan. The plan includes diverting 70 per cent of the Metro Vancouver waste through recycling, composting and other programs by 2015, increasing to 80 per cent by 2020.
Delta residents, for the time being, will not see their weekly garbage pickup reduced to every other week. Lan told the Optimist the upcoming report to council is only dealing with organics collection.
Delta's environmental advisory committee last year supported the idea of reducing garbage pickup to every other week as well as the addition of weekly organic waste collection.
