Saint John curbside recycling pilot to begin after multiple false starts

The city of Saint John is testing out curbside recycling and a new way to reduce waste starting next month.

Council has chosen two routes where 1,000 residents will receive recycling bins and will be able to put plastics and paper on the curb for pickup starting May 20.

Residents will also get 48-gallon bins for their trash, so bags are not sitting on the sidewalk.

If residents have more bags than the bin will hold, they'll have to pay $2 per extra bag for special tags. If the extra bags don't have tags, they won't be picked up. 

The pilot is expected to run for about two months. Once it's done, staff will report the findings to council.

If everything goes well, council could launch the program city wide to about 24,000 households.

Staff said if the expansion is given approval, it could roll out by early summer of 2022. The high-density areas like the south end would be the last to be included.

The neighbourhoods included in the May 20 start date are:

• The Rockwood route including parts of Hawthorne Ave, Mt. Pleasant north, Wright Street, Seeley Street, and other streets within the general area.
• The Latimore route including parts of Grandview Avenue, Loch Lomond Road, Eldersley Avenue, Hickey Road, Latimore Lake Road, and other streets within the general area.

The program was supposed to start in early 2020, but was delayed multiple times because of COVID-19.

Jeff Hussey, the deputy commissioner of transportation and environment services, said the communal blue bins used by people to recycle now are at the end of their life. He said they're managed by the Fundy Regional Service Commission, not the city.

"They have no desire to extend that beyond the end of our pilot in the implementation of this program," he said.

Apartment buildings with three units or more would not have curbside pickup and are not included in this program. Coun. David Hickey asked how those residents recycle if the blue bins will be decommissioned.

"That will be either on the owners or the landlords of the buildings or the individual residents," Hussey said.

Yes to recycling, $2 tag controversy

Councillors Ray Strowbridge and Greg Norton both said it's about time Saint John gets curbside recycling, but expressed their concern about the extra cost of getting a bag tag.

"Is it going to lead to, you know, illegal dumping? Or are commercial businesses going to have their dumpster overflowing with residents going there after hours and putting their extra garbage in there?" Strowbridge asked.

Norton said the extra cost could cause "unnecessary hardship" on people.

Michael Hugenholtz, public works commissioner, said plastic and paper recycling totes, as well as compost, means people will be putting less trash in the waste bin to begin with, so they are less likely to need the extra bag tag.

"The waste stream that's left for garbage only is not a lot," he said. "I feel that the community can come together and achieve this and we're providing all the tools for them to achieve that."

Council has already approved the pilot so there will be no changes to the process until after the first stage is done.

Rothesay, Quispamsis, Moncton and Fredericton all offer curbside recycling programs. 

The city will be sharing information directly with residents of the households involved in the pilot, and will explain what goes in each bin.