“Got fruit flies? How do you manage the stink?” These are common questions bandied about in the grocery store lineup or over the garden fence in Squamish since the new organics program was rolled out.
At single-family homes and townhouses across the district, totes on wheels with bright green lids arrived along with smaller taupe kitchen-catcher totes starting in May.
The district announced last week the organics curbside collection program has, so far, yielded a 14.6 per cent decrease – 174 metric tonnes – in residential garbage taken to the landfill, compared with the same period in 2014.
From May and September this year, 29 per cent of all waste collected from the curbside totes was yard waste and food scraps placed in the containers, while 20 per cent was recycling and 51 per cent was garbage, according to the district.
During 2014, the percentage of garbage for the same period was 65 per cent.
Despite the program’s success, some people have been complaining online and in person about fruit flies and smells.
“We don’t have the smell, but my gosh, the fruit flies are killing me,” Melissa Harper posted on Facebook.
“We’ve tried setting the traps all over the kitchen, have followed advice to empty [the bucket] every day or two, and just can’t keep on top of them – gross,” she told The Squamish Chief.
Shan Warburton, who lives in a single-detached home in Garibaldi Estates, said to deal with rotting food smelling, attracting flies and sticking to the bottom of the bucket, the key is to take the bucket out to the large totes at least once a day. She uses a metal bucket with a lid rather than the plastic little tote, and also uses brown paper bags that have an environmentally friendly wax lining inside to help keep the tote clean. She said her family doesn’t eat a lot of meat, but when there are bones or meat scraps, she wraps them and stores them in the freezer until the day of pickup.
She said she has been composting a long time in her backyard but still has been surprised at the volume of food scraps that now ends up in the district organics tote.
“I really think it is a fantastic program,” she said.
Dave Crowther, who lives in a single detached house, received his wheeled tote in the spring and uses it consistently. He finds the small carrying tote works to reduce the food scrap stink and flies, he said.
“The mesh top on it… works just fine. I line it with a piece of newspaper –usually The Chief – and that keeps a bit of the juice under control. Never a problem, never got stinky.”
The larger tote he keeps well away from the house so the smells don’t bother him, and he rinses it out, which also helps battle the stink.
He did, however, have one incident last week with a bear trying to get into his food scraps bin.
“I had one little batch from under the sink in it and I didn’t lock it up and… a bear came and got it,” he said.
As long as he remembers to lock the tote, bears are not an issue, he said.
“It was a warning to me.”
Charlene Adams lives in a suite in a housing complex in downtown Squamish and didn’t get the organics totes but hopes she will. “I’m tired of trying to get a garbage bag in a full can,” she said.
She wishes tenants, even those in basement suites, could take part the program.
The district say all houses should have the totes and that stratas can choose to contract for the program through Carney’s Waste Systems.
Until Nov. 20, the district is hosting an online Food Scraps and Yard Waste Survey to collect feedback on the program at www.squamish.ca/organics.
