City officials are considering a change to London’s green bin program. A staff report is in the works for a pilot project allowing pet waste collection. It’s a proposal that could have a major impact on pet owners—and the city’s composting system. “It does represent 5 to 10 per cent of the weight that’s going into our landfills. So, it’s a really important waste diversion activity for us. But of course, also residents have been saying, ‘What do I do with my pet waste? … I don’t want it to be in my garbage anymore,’” said Director of Climate Change, Environment and Waste Management Shawna Chambers. The cost of the pilot project is undetermined at this time. However, if it were to be successful, city officials estimate up to $1 million added to the overall city budget on a yearly basis. That would cover costs associated with processing the pet waste at the facility, and the potential cost of extra bins. “Our bin capacity is 44 pounds. The pet waste tends to be quite heavy. So, we need to look at things like do we need another receptacle to collect the pet waste? Do we need to include kitty litter? Do we include just the feces? We really need to look at all those options before we settle on what we’re going to do in the pilot,” said Chambers. For some pet owners—like Lisa Rielly—the idea is welcome, with some adjustments. “It’s a pretty interesting concept, and it’s nice to think that there’s no more waste of plastic bags. We’d need a secondary bin. Yeah, not keep it in the kitchen,” said Rielly. Others say it could be a convenient way to clean up—especially after a long winter. “Poo being put in the recycling? I think it’s great. You can just clean it up in the backyard, put it in your green bin and away you go. No more buckets full of poo at the end of the winter. No more poo bags. It’s great,” said dog owner Peter Battersby. But not everyone is sold on the idea—especially when it comes to how compost from the green bin is used. “Not too sure that people would be happy about that. I think people would get a little queasy about the level of content in compost. I don’t know,” said Paul Fleury, dog owner. City staff say the pilot project could begin as early as next spring—if it’s approved. But before then, they’ll be looking at logistics, costs, and of course—what Londoners have to say.
