The results from a pilot project that began on Elgin Street last year came back so successful that it is in the process of expanding to another part of Ottawa.
“We are very excited about the recycling initiative being expanded to Laurier Avenue East,” says Rideau-Vanier Coun. Mathieu Fleury. “It’s a great initiative for high pedestrian areas like Elgin and Laurier, and we are happy to see the city committing to beautifying our downtown area.”
Over the past year, pedestrians on Elgin Street tested for the first time 26 specially-designed waste bins that were installed as part of an initiative to encourage recycling. These new receptacles contain a separate bin for fibre, plastic and waste.
Results from the pilot project were so positive that Mayor Jim Watson announced during his recent State of the City address that there are plans to expand the program.
Watson says the city has seen a much higher recycling capture rate, from 62 percent to 92 per cent, for glass, metal and plastic.
Individuals who work on Elgin Street have noticed the difference.
“Before (the new bins), I would say that there was an average amount of litter; the city keeps the main streets really clean,” says Jennifer Porter, general manager of Dunn’s deli. “We’re (open) 24 hours and we see people just toss things. But because there are bins on every street corner, there has been a marked decrease in litter.”
Officials are still early in the process of carrying out the expansion and there are discussions on what can be improved from the Centretown pilot before its implementation in neighboring Sandy Hill.
Laurier Avenue East was chosen as the next location for the bins based on its busy pedestrian traffic and where the city could see a significant improvement.
The project was a response to the existing odd collection of bins scattered across the city that made recycling difficult and unorganized.
“For some reason, there were many different kinds of waste receptacles all over the place in Ottawa,” says Maria McRae, councillor for River ward and chair of the city’s environment committee. “Some were steel, some were plastic, some were attached to benches and nothing seemed to have a receptacle for recycling.”
The city responded by designing a receptacle that contained an individual bin for fibre or paper recyclables, plastic recyclables and waste.
“The ultimate goal with this plan is to have these kinds of receptacles throughout the city,” says McRae.
“It’s nice to actually see that people are taking the time to use the bins and see us all participate in such a small way but that has such a big impact.”