When Justin Spicer worked as an operations supervisor for Progressive Waste, he couldn't believe the amount of illegal items dumped in city bins.
Now, the Port Coquitlam resident is working for the city as one of two newly hired ambassadors to teach the public how to separate trash from organics and recycling.
This month, Spicer and Pinetree secondary graduate Mahdis Irandoost began their 16-month stint to educate residents about keeping Metro Vancouver's landfills low.
"What we don't want are high contamination rates," he said at last Thursday's PoCo Farmers Market, where he and Irandoost will have an outreach kiosk. "It makes a difference if people take the time and organize properly. It makes a huge difference to our planet."
Irandoost, a marketing consultant and graphic designer who lives in Coquitlam and has a background in customer service with banks, said she has a passion for waste diversion and recycling, too. "It's a personal cause: I want to be good to the environment."
Next month, the casual part-time CUPE workers will be introduced to city council during Waste Reduction Week, Oct. 16 to 21. And they'll be available for community groups, strata councils and schools to talk about the city's two programs: Sort It Right and Lock It Right.
Tom Madigan, PoCo's manager of solid waste and fleet services, said the cost of the ambassadors is $50,000. And though PoCo hasn't been fined yet by Recycle BC, "we have been audited numerous times and have always been above the 3% contamination threshold. Recycle BC continues to work with the city to reduce contamination in the recycling stream," he said.
Madigan added, "Having the ambassadors champion the behavioural changes needed to reach this difficult threshold will help the city hopefully avoid any fines in the future."
Irandoost said PoCo residents can also avoid the bylaw penalty (up to $300, in some cases) if they follow the rules. PoCo's waste diversion rate currently stands at 67% — below Coquitlam and Port Moody's; in three years, PoCo hopes to have it at the regional target of 80%.
"There's no excuse anymore because there's so much information out there," Irandoost said, citing the free PoCo Waste-Line app and other online tools (portcoquitlam.ca/sortitright).
Meanwhile, next spring, the ambassadors' program will expand to include Metro Vancouver’s water-use restrictions, which run from May 15 to Oct. 15.
• PoCo residents wanting to ask waste and recycling questions to the city ambassadors can visit portcoquitlam.ca/ambassadors or email [email protected].
