Sort'nGo – Port Alberni

Well done Alberni Valley!

Today we mark one year since we rolled out the three-stream curbside waste collection program, and we are declaring it a success.

Thanks to your participation in the Sort’nGo program, per month the Alberni Valley produced 44% less garbage and 30% more recycling. We collected an average of 182 tonnes of organics per month. The benefits of this work is outlined in the graphic below.

We couldn't be happier to see full organics carts along the roadside; knowing our residents are diverting food and yard waste away from the landfill and towards nutrient-rich compost. But we are seeing a few folks overstuffing the carts with fruit and leaves.

During the extra-wet times of the year, or any time of year when yard and garden waste is high, it's important to ensure we're not overpacking or stuffing the carts and adding more weight than can be handled by the mechanical arm of the collection truck.

Why is this a problem?

If carts are too heavy, the mechanical grab arms on collection trucks can't hold on to the cart when it gets tipped, which means the carts are sometimes slipping into the trucks.

This can break the carts, cause damage to the truck, and requires the drivers to climb up and remove the carts -- which can make for a long and stressful day for collection drivers who work hard every day to remove your organics, recycling and garbage.

How you can help:

In instances where organics carts are too heavy for the truck arm to lift, the contents of the cart may be left behind during the collection service. To ensure your cart is emptied here are a few tips to keep in mind:

• don't over-stuffing your cart with fruit or leaves
• use your green cart primarily for food waste
• top it up with leaves and other yard waste while making sure you're able to easily close and lock your lid
• Avoid packing or stuffing items down in the cart to make more room

Don't leave your locking mechanisms dangling!

Remember to unclip the locking mechanisms from the lid, and then hook the mechanisms together, when placing organics carts roadside. Hooking them together while loose will minimize bangs and scapes, and other potential damage to your carts.

Questions about our trucks and how they work? Find out more here.

We're seeing plastics improperly added to Sort'nGo collection carts in Port Alberni. This can contaminate our waste streams while making it costly and challenging to reach our waste diversion goals. Let's work together to sort smarter, and live simpler.

Find Answers on the App

All of the items in the graphics above can be found on the Sort’nGo ACRD app, with instructions on where they belong or where they should be taken. The app is free and available for download on the Apple Store or Google Play.

For those without mobile devices, use the desktop version and select “sort it” for sorting help: https://api.recollect.net/r/area/ACRD

Organics

Plastic bags, even those marked compostable, or biodegradable, don’t belong. This is because items that carry these labels don't always break down the same way, or in the same timeframe, which means these plastics can contaminate the organic waste stream with microplastics and affect our ability to make compost. Green carts should be lined with paper only – newspapers, paper bags, or cardboard.

Recycling

Soft plastics including plastic bags, leftover packaging, plastic wrap, and plastic bottles should all be taken to:

• Bamfield Transfer Station

• Westcoast Recycling Depot

• 3rd Ave Recycling Depot

• AV Landfill Recycling Depot

• Sonbird Refuse & Recycling

Some soft plastic items like straws and candy wrappers belong in the garbage. Check the app for details.

Garbage

Plastics including cling wrap, cups, and gardening pots/holders/trays should all be taken to:

• Bamfield Transfer Station

• Westcoast Recycling Depot

• 3rd Ave Recycling Depot

• AV Landfill Recycling Depot

• Sonbird Refuse & Recycling

Since launching Sort’nGo Organics in Port Alberni last September, we’ve seen more than 500 tons of organic waste diverted from the landfill. As we transform that kitchen/food/garden waste into compost, we want to remind residents of the best ways to leave their green organics carts out on the roadside on collection days.

How and When you Place Your Carts is Important

• To reduce the chance of wildlife interactions, bylaws require that carts not be placed roadside until 7 am. Collection trucks leave the yard shortly after 7 am.

Distance & Position

• Make sure there is at least one metre (three feet) between the carts and any obstacles (ie: cars, powerpoles) so the mechanical arms of the truck can work properly.

• Place the wheels of the cart on the side nearest your residence.

Don't Leave Your Locking Mechanisms Dangling!

• Make sure to unclip the bear-proof locking mechanism from the cart when placed roadside and then hook the clips together. Doing this ensures they are not left hanging loose when the collection truck picks the carts up – which can cause bangs and scrapes and other damage to the carts.
  

There are many great advantages to diverting organic waste away from our landfill, like saving space at the facility and increasing its lifespan. But another significant advantage to turning kitchen/food/yard waste into compost is that it significantly decreases the harmful gases caused when these items are left to sit under garbage.

What happens when organic waste is left at the landfill?

When organic waste gets buried under garbage, the lack of oxygen produced results in methane gases. In comparison, when composting organics in an oxygen-rich environment, carbon dioxide gas is created.

How bad is methane gas?

While both carbon dioxide and methane contribute to levels of greenhouse gases, methane is up to 34X more potent because of its ability to effectively absorb heat, which is why it's considered a much larger contributor to climate change.

Let's keep working together!

Now that Port Alberni residents are actively diverting organic waste away from the landfill, we're doing our part for the planet and for our local community by transforming that waste (not garbage!) into nutrient-rich compost that can be re-cycled back into our green spaces.

As we see snow piling up with more in the forecast this winter, residents will probably need to alter the regular placement of their carts so that the collection vehicles can still reach them and pathways are clear.

Here are a few tips for snow season:

• Find or clear off a site as close to the street as possible where you can set your carts out for collection — placing your carts at the end of your driveway, on either side, can make it easier for you and the collection trucks
• Avoid placing carts on the travelled portion of the roadway where they will impede snow ploughs, and ensure they are not blocking sidewalks or bike lanes
• Do not place carts on top of or behind snowbanks
• A friendly reminder that carts should be at least 3 feet from parked vehicles or other obstacles
• By clearing your cart of snow and ice, you can ensure the lid opens properly when carts get tipped
• For the safety of residents: because collection carts are wheeled, please use extra caution when navigating in snowy and icy conditions

When it comes to figuring out which cart coffee pods belong (think Keurig cups), it might seem like they could go in any of the green, blue or black carts.

So which cart is the correct cart for coffee pods?

We wish the answer was simple, but as it happens coffee pods are one of those tricky items — some are labelled compostable, and some are labelled recyclable, while some are neither.

• Compost - unfortunately, compostable coffee pods are not accepted in the ACRD Sort’nGo program (green cart) as the compostable plastic doesn’t fully break down. These items have been identified as problem material in other municipal systems. Having said that, coffee grinds only are welcome in the green carts!

• Recyclable - in order for a coffee pod to be recyclable, they need to be clean and the contents removed and rinsed COMPLETELY. More often than not, this clean-up doesn’t happen and the pods are dropped into the blue recycling carts. This results in contamination of our recycling stream. In addition, when pods reach the Material Recovery Facility (MRF) and are placed on the sorting line conveyor belt, they can fall through the sorting mechanism and end up with ‘fine’ material (like bottle caps) which get disposed of as garbage.

• Garbage - coffee pods continue to be a contentious item in the recycling world because they have such a high generation rate and low recovery process, so we do recommend that these get placed in the garbage.

A Helpful Hint for Sort’nGo Gamers: when playing the sorting game on the Sort’nGo ACRD app please note that coffee pods are accepted in either garbage OR recycling for a correct answer.

Don't forget to complete the game before Dec 15 and enter the draw to win a year’s worth of free waste service on us! Get contest details at: bit.ly/acrd-press-release-nov-17.

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release November 17, 2021

PORT ALBERNI – Residents have been working hard to divert organics from the landfill with the new Sort’nGo Organics curbside collection service. Households are now invited to learn how more about decreasing contamination for a clean stream – with a chance to win free waste service for 2022.

Based on what’s being found in organics collection, and the common errors when playing the sorting game on the Sort’nGo ACRD app, here are a few of the top items residents are unsure how to sort:

• soiled newspaper (belongs in organics)
• diapers (belongs in garbage)
• rubber bands from produce items (belongs in garbage)
• plastic garden tags and garden accessories (can be dropped off at recycling depot)
• dog feces, cat litter (belongs in garbage)
• coffee pods (belongs in garbage)

“When we take care to keep non-organic materials out of organics carts, we’re ensuring a better end result,” said Sharie Minions, City of Port Alberni Mayor. “Contamination can lead to increased costs as well as less overall compost that can be returned to our parks and green spaces.”

Right now, there’s a big incentive to sort with skill! Residents can win a free year of solid waste collection, valued at $180 (based on standard 120L carts) by playing the sorting game on the app: acrd.recycle.game.

To be entered in the draw, residents must complete all five levels of the game, and when a certificate of completion is issued, it can be emailed as a screenshot to sortngo@acrd.bc.ca or saved as a PDF and a hardcopy mailed to the ACRD office at: 3008 5^th Ave, Port Alberni, BC V9Y 2E3.

With over 2,000 gameplays to date, and more than 75 certificates created, participants are having fun while honing their sorting skills. Meanwhile, star curbside sorters on collection routes are also being automatically entered into the draw to win. The contest closes end of day Dec 15, 2021.

“The best way to learn to sort is to play the sorting game on our app,” said Jodie Frank, Sort’nGo Organics Project Lead. “When we sort smarter, our whole community benefits!”

Learn more about Sort’nGo Organics service at letsconnectacrd.ca/organics.

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Questions?

Jodie Frank, ACRD Organics Coordinator

250-736-7678 (SORT)

jfrank@acrd.bc.ca