More than half of all the waste that was collected during 2021 in Burnaby was diverted away from landfills thanks to the solid waste and recycling collection program, according to the city.
In a news release, the city says the 2021 Solid Waste and Recycling Annual Report shows, for the third year in a row, green waste comprised the largest share of collected materials (41%) while recycling was 20%.
The city also says just 39% of the collected materials were classified as garbage.
"While the city-wide picture is strong, there are opportunities to improve the diversion rate for multi-family, industrial, commercial and institutional properties," the release said.
"While the diversion rate for these properties is slowly improving each year, the city is exploring additional ways to accelerate this positive trend."
The report also highlighted other key waste-related achievements, the city says. They are as follows:
- Making the Eco-Centre more accessible to cyclists and people using transit, by installing a pedestrian entrance
- Creating new partnerships to collect electronics, small appliances and power tools for recycling at the Eco-Centre
- Initiating plans to develop a civic-owned green waste processing facility
- Acquiring a mobile camera to deploy to illegal dumping hot spots on city streets and lanes to deter illegal dumping and/or capture the evidence required for enforcement
- Receiving $128,000 in program incentive bonuses from Recycle BC for demonstrating high diversion rates in the residential curbside collection program
