City’s enhanced Waste Wise program shows impressive early results

Congratulations, Saint John. After a full month of households participating in the City’s enhanced Waste Wise program, results show that approximately 40 per cent less garbage is already being diverted from the landfill.

The City’s goal through the program was to divert 15 per cent of residential waste from the landfill each year.

Current reduction amounts are equivalent to almost two bags of garbage per household, and the weight of approximately 246 mid-sized vehicles.

Program success is attributed to residents reducing their household waste by participating in curbside compost and recycling.

On average, households are now composting 42 per cent of their household waste. In September of this year, this figure was 21 per cent. Additionally, 16 per cent of the waste diverted from the landfill since September is attributed to an increase in household recycling using the new curbside collection service.

A tremendous thank you to the residents of Saint John for their efforts to achieve these early results. Together, we are reducing our environmental impact.

Some important Waste Wise reminders to keep the momentum going and ensure that all garbage, recycling and compost can be collected as expected: 

• Garbage must be bagged and placed in a city-issued cart or have a bag tag attached when placing at the curb. 
• Recycling must be placed in the supplied totes, or similar containers; the colour of the container does not matter as long as contents are sorted correctly.   
• Find your schedule by visiting www.saintjohn.ca/pickup and sign up to receive reminders.

Any garbage or recycling that does not meet the requirements of the new program will be tagged with a reminder sticker indicating why it was not collected. Reasons for this could include being over the garbage limit, not having the appropriate bag tag, or recycling not sorted correctly.

Solid Waste staff continue to do what they can to keep neighbourhoods clean and free of stray garbage, for the benefit of all residents. Enforcement officers are taking note of households that are not compliant and enforcement measures are being taken. As per the Solid Waste By-law, fines range from $150 - $2,100 and can be issued after the garbage is cleaned from the curb.

All Waste Wise program details can be found on the City’s website including an FAQ, bag tag vendor locations and sorting guides.  

Here to help – For inquiries related to municipal services, contact the City of Saint John Customer Service Centre at (506) 658-4455, email service@saintjohn.ca or visit us in person on the Ground Floor of City Hall, 15 Market Square, Monday to Thursday (excluding holidays), 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.