(Cam Lee/northeastNOW Staff)

By Cam Lee

Waste options in Melfort

City of Melfort outlines options for residents if extra waste disposal is needed

Apr 1, 2020 | 3:02 PM

The City of Melfort has issued an update to residents as it relates to their landfill and waste removal.

The city restricted public access to the Melfort Regional Landfill on March 16, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The regular curbside pickup of garbage and recyclable material has continued on alternating weeks, as it did before the global health crisis.

Director of Development, Planning and Community Relations Brent Lutz told northeastNOW the landfill has been safety accepting waste from licensed commercial contractors, provided they first obtain a commercial account with the city. There is a protocol in place to avoid personal contact at the landfill.

“This way we have been able to support essential businesses throughout the region that continue to operate during the crisis,” Lutz said.

He added the city has received calls from outside the community as to how they should dispose of their household solid waste. They’ve also had inquiries from Melfort residents who have additional waste as they clean the house or garage, or start small projects while at home self-isolating.

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Lutz said Greenland Waste provides curbside pickup in the city, and they also offer waste collection services throughout the area.

“For a fee, they will provide local residents with additional pickups, or they will drop off a larger container at your home, and they can do this without requiring personal contact,” Lutz said.

The city has also reached out to the local rural municipalities that surround Melfort, the RM’s of Flett’s Springs and Star City. Lutz said the RM’s advised their ratepayers obtain a garbage bin through a commercial hauler such as Greenland Waste. He said the RM’s also suggested neighbours could go together to share the costs of a container.

According to Lutz, when the city talked to Greenland Waste to discuss what services they are offering to people, the company indicated that some residents had already reached out to them about extra waste removal.

“They certainly have been getting more calls from people, and we thought possibly some of the public didn’t know this was an option available to them, and so that’s why we wanted to get this information out,” Lutz said.

He said they closed the landfill in part because they couldn’t assure the safety of the people. Lutz added residents should continue to separate their household waste and recyclable materials, and the city will inform them if there are other steps they need to take to ensure the safety of the material.

Some communities across Canada have switched from bi-weekly to weekly garbage pickup during COVID-19, due to an increase in waste material. However, that isn’t a move Melfort is considering at this time.

“Right now we haven’t seen a need for that,” Lutz said.

He added there are new challenges as people are spending more time in their homes, and they may have to look at providing different services, but there has been no discussion about that yet.

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cam.lee@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @camlee1974