With the announcement of curbside recycling and composting coming to Chestermere came much rejoicing and also complaining. CUI (Chestermere Utilities Inc) rolled out its new program and provided a grace period for residents to get the hang of the new rules and restrictions that were coming along with it. Effective October 5, 2016, residents are only allowed to have one bag of trash out for collection – and with that came grumbling from all over the city.
I caught up with Donna McCallum, Operations Manager with CUI, to get some information that might help residents with this transition and to answer some buzzing questions.
“As some households may find it difficult to stick to the one bag of trash per week, if you have excess garbage you will need to purchase Excess Garbage Bag Tags. All excess garbage that has this tag will be collected. The Excess Bag Tags can be purchased at CUI or at Centex”.
Aside from having too many garbage bags, the question has also been asked as to what residents are to do if their bins are not picked up. “If their carts are not collected please check the CUI website as from time to time there may be delays due to a technical issue with the collection vehicle. If this is not the case then please send us an email utilities@cuinc.ca and let us know which cart was not collected along with their name and their address. We have dedicated staff who respond quickly to all inquiries with regards to the Recycling, Compost and Solid Waste programs. Residents can also place a call to our office for assistance 403-207-7284”.
Some helpful reminders are:
Carts and garbage must be at the curb by 7:00 a.m. Collection begins promptly at 7:00 am and can extend through 7:00 pm
Ensure enough space is placed between carts. If residents can walk around the carts without touching any objects such as other carts or vehicles, then there is enough space for a safe collection of the cart.
Ensure carts are not placed under basketball nets or any overhead obstacles.
Please break down large cardboard boxes. These can become wedged inside of the cart, which does not allow the contents of the cart to be emptied.
Please do not place polystyrene (Styrofoam), glass or furnace filters in the recycle cart. Until alternative disposal / recycling options are found, all of these are items are garbage.
Please do not place organics in plastic bags. If residents wish to bag their organics, they must be in a Certified Compostable Bag. The only item that must be placed in a Certified Compostable Bag is pet waste. All other organics may be placed loose inside their cart.
With everyone now having months of experience with the new program, and now the one bag of trash limit firmly in place, CUI was asked how they feel the program is going. “There’s no doubt about it, we had a bit of a bumpy start and service was not as reliable as we had hoped. However we have taken steps to improve our customers’ experience and are grateful that customers were patient with us through those early days. We are very pleased to see how residents have embraced the program”.
