The city of Airdrie will be asking AIrdronians how they feel about a possible black cart for waste disposal.

At Monday's city council meeting, options were brought forward after the City of Airdrie Waste and Recycling team brought forward information from a previous survey.

Leanne Moreira, the Program Coordinator for waste and recycling services with the city talked about the report that was presented to council.

"A city-wide public engagement survey was held in 2022, it indicated that about 61 per cent of our respondents to that initial survey expressed a desire for an automated black cart program to prevent litter and animal-related issues. This information was presented to Council at the December 5 2022 meeting, and council directed staff to conduct further research on alternative garbage collection programs. "

According to Moreira, the city's manual garbage program has helped to divert material from going to landfill, and they want to continue on this diversion trend. Based on what the city has collected from the initial survey, an automated garbage collection program is being considered.

"Council passed a motion on Monday to conduct further resident engagement specific to black carts and return with recommended service level changes based on those results."

Some of the previous concerns when introducing a black cart program included the space to store a black cart, to set out an additional cart, potential increases to utility bills, and changes that could happen with collection schedules. Moreira went on to talk about how much this could possibly cost Airdronians.

"We're estimating approximately $12 to $16 more per year per household at this time."

Additional cost projections take into account a 20–30 per cent rise in the volume of curbside garbage disposed of in landfills, a 15 per cent drop in collection services, ongoing cart maintenance, a decline in revenue from the sale of excess waste tags, repayment to the waste management reserve, and anticipated inflation.

Up next is to see what Airdrie residents think about the idea.

"We're going to put together some information for our residents on those potential changes I mentioned that come with a black carts program, such as the increased utility bills, changes to collection schedules, and other changes that residents should consider, such as how much space they have to store a cart. Then we will be sending out a postcard to each household in Airdrie with a unique PIN so that they can complete the survey."

Moreira mentioned they hope to hear from as many residents as possible.

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