Hi-Fibre Content
Twins Bounce Back
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Estevan OTS Oilwomen’s Golf Tournament
Wed., July 16, 2014
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Clean up enters next stage
Semi Truck Struck
On July 8 a pick up truck struck this tractor-trailer hauling grain on Highway 39 on the west side of Estevan, after the truck crossed the centre line, according to the Estevan Police Service. The highway was shut down as clean up crews dealt with spilled diesel and other fluids from the engines. Both drivers suffered minor injuries and and the driver of the pick up was charged with driving without due care and attention. (Photo by Melanie Tribiger of the Mercury)
Recycling nearly one-fifth of trash By Jordan Baker editor@estevanmercury.ca
Ever since Regens Disposal began its recycling program in Estevan last fall, the figures regarding what we send to the landfill and what we recycle have become incredibly clear. The curbside recycling service was rolled out in October 2013, and so far, the acceptance among residents has been consistent. Regens picks up, on average, 36,178 kilograms of recycled material each month, but that’s still significantly dwarfed by what gets thrown away. The sum weight of all recycled material from October to May doesn’t quite equal the amount of trash picked up in October 2013 alone, when 295,862 kg was trucked to the landfill, though that month was a particular trash high, as the average garbage picked up each month from October 2013 to May 2014 was about 206,672 kg. Logan Baniulis, of Regens Disposal, is pleased with the numbers and the adoption among residents of the recycling program. “It’s as good or better than anywhere. It’s almost staggering how similar the participation rates are from town to town,” he said. “The 11 kilograms per cart is almost a constant.” He said recycling carts are a little heavier in Estevan than some of the neighbouring communities his company services, and he attributes that to the regular distribution of newspapers in the city. He said they also find contamination to be higher in Estevan.
Issue 11
SERVING THE ENERGY CITY FOR 112 YEARS
“I just think, we pick up that many more carts (in Estevan) and one contaminated cart spreads throughout a load, and it’s a mess,” added Baniulis. Baniulis said it’s also important for users to remember what is and isn’t acceptable material to place in the recycling bins. With the spring moving into summer, there have been a number of incidents around grass clippings or individuals placing compostable waste in the bins. “We’ve dumped a few loads of grass in the truck, and we’ve had to not empty a few because of that kind of thing,” said Baniulis, who noted they may send out an information package to residents reminding them of what goods are meant for the recycling bins and what goods aren’t. He added that the Estevan program has perhaps led to greater curbside recycling interest in the area. “With the City providing this service to its residents, we found it really spurred quite an interest in the surrounding area.” Since the Estevan program began, Regens have delivered singlestream containers to Macoun, Midale, Radville, Stoughton and Fillmore. Adding the recycling service has led to a notable decrease in the weight of trash bins around the city and surrounding areas. “After delivering the recycle carts, we were able to see a small decrease in the weight of the garbage carts, not a huge amount, but there was a noticeable decrease,” he said. The Estevan recycling bins produce, on average, 17.5 per cent of what is sent to the landfill. Baniulis said because the num-
Recycling pick up stats Month.....................No. of bins...........weight (kg) October 2013.............. 3,398..................39,920 November................... 3,408..................35,370 December................... 3,288..................36,280 January 2014.............. 3,253..................34,130 February..................... 2,765..................28,180 March......................... 4,112..................41,850 April............................ 3,462..................37,754 May............................. 3,244..................35,940 bers weren’t as closely documented prior to rolling out the curbside recycling service, they don’t know exactly how much the recycling program has led to a decrease in trash. “If you think about it this way, all the people who didn’t recycle but do now, we’re getting 11 kilograms per cart that was going in the garbage before,” said Baniulis. He noted the primary trend in the recycling is consistency. As garbage pick up hit lows in January, February and March, so too did recycling pick up, with higher numbers in the spring and fall. “There’s always a trend, and I would say it has just been a good consistent use of the service,” he said, noting the use in some ways is predictably inconsistent. While the overall weight of recycling material remains steady, rising and falling with trash numbers each month, the bins account for only a quarter of the number of trash bins collected. That’s in part because the recycling bins are picked up only half as frequently and also due to some households not necessarily needing to empty their bins every other week
as per the retrieval schedule. Baniulis said he may not take his recycling bin to the curb if he thinks it can handle another two weeks of recycled waste, but he won’t miss a week of taking his trash bin to the curb. Not necessarily because it’s always full, but because it contains more material that might give off a foul smell. He said he probably isn’t alone in that regard. Regens now sends a monthly report to the City of Estevan with the number of bins picked up for both recycling and trash, the total weights of each as well as any issues with bins that have led to maintenance or replacement of a bin. Generally, the issues around the bins involve damaged lids but some other issues do arise, and Regens replaces those at no charge to the homeowner. “We’re always replacing containers that are damaged, and we encourage residents to phone in and inform us of a damaged cart,” said Baniulis. “It’s our equipment and we want it looking good, so encourage people to call us.”
The residents of floodimpacted communities such as Gainsborough, Redvers and Carnduff are beginning to make progress on the recovery front, but they still require assistance and will probably need it for quite some time. As Estevan and area citizens learned in 2011, recovering from a flood can be a lot more painful and time consuming than the actual event itself. With that in mind, the Salvation Army in Estevan and within the province is making their presence felt when the call goes out. Major Mike Hoeft, area commander for the relief efforts for the Army, said he has been in continual contact with the Carnduff emergency measures organization since July 1, a day or two after the heavy rains devastated several towns and regions of southeast Saskatchewan. “We’ve been supplying clean water for workers in Gainsborough, we trucked about 3,000 pounds of water to them in early July,” said Hoeft from his Moose Jaw office. “On Monday, July 7 we sent two people to the recovery centre in Carnduff to help them manage the donations of items they were receiving. They’ve been getting requests for clothing, housewares and food.” Hoeft said even a month or two, won’t see much easing of demand or pain, as flood victims begin to realize a lot of their furniture and household equipment is ruined, adding they’ll need help in Carnduff ⇢ A2
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