By Kevin Donovan and Moira Welsh Toronto Star Aug 26, 2009
Toronto residents are putting only about one half of their organic waste into the popular green bins, city documents show.
While the City of Toronto frequently states that 30 per cent of all household waste is "green bin organics," it turns out that homeowners, on average, place just 16.2 per cent of their household waste into green bins.
This information was gleaned from a letter sent to the Star in libel proceedings brought by top city garbage official Geoff Rathbone.
A calculation based on figures Rathbone's lawyer sent to the Star reveal that Toronto, though doing well, has a long way to go before it reaches that 30 per cent target. City officials have refused several requests to be interviewed about this matter over the past week.
City Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong said he was surprised to learn of the low percentage. He has been seeking hard information on the green bin program for years, but said the "city throws around many different numbers, which makes it confusing."
"Now I realize the city is missing a lot. What has the city been doing to increase the participation rate?"
Recent Star stories detailed problems in the green bin program after curbside pickup, showing that not all of the material residents put in the bins was being properly composted – the intention of the program.
Among the examples provided by the Star: unfinished compost dumped in a gravel pit; rotten bags of organic waste sent to a Quebec landfill; and the stockpiling of organic waste because the companies contracted to compost it faced serious restrictions from the provincial environment ministry. Another story quoted city employees who alleged they routinely mix green bin organics with regular garbage headed for the Michigan landfill, an allegation the city denies.
Cities like Toronto are working to increase their garbage diversion rates in the race to become the greenest. In a 2006 speech, Mayor David Miller said the way residents "almost unanimously" responded to Toronto's green bin program led to it being "hailed as revolutionary around the globe."Last year, in a statement, Miller said: "Toronto is a North American leader in recycling and composting programs."
Green bins play an integral role in Miller's vow to make Toronto the "leading environmental city in North America, without question."Based on a reading of numerous city documents the stories said that the city claimed 30 per cent – almost a third – of collected garbage was now being diverted from landfills because it was organic, or "Green Bin Program" material.
The city uses that figure a lot. It's the only percentage figure it uses to describe the organic program. This was incorrect. In fact, 30 per cent is the total percentage of all garbage that is organic and could potentially be diverted.
City statements do not make that clear.
For example, in 2008, Mayor David Miller released a statement saying: "Green Bin organics comprise approximately 30 per cent of household waste making this program an integral component of the City's effort to achieve 70 per cent diversion from landfill."
Another of the many references was in 2006, when a city news release announced the expansion of the program to North York.
"Before the Green Bin Program, more than 30 per cent of the garbage going to landfill was organic material. The Green Bin Program diverts organic material away from landfill and turns it into useful compost instead."
Now, Rathbone, general manager of solid waste management services, is complaining about the stories. One of his main objections is over the way the Star characterized the 30 per cent figure.
Rathbone's lawyer alleges the Star stories said he "intentionally deceived the public."