Compostable green bin bags still visible in final stages of composting, known as curing. Photo courtesy: Municipal Joint Services Board
A proposed by-law could soon see green bin bags advertised as “compostable” banned from food waste bins in the town of Bridgewater.
Stephanie Smits, a spokesperson for the Municipal Joints Services Board, made a presentation to council about the problems the bags are causing early on Jan. 10.
“It’s deteriorating the quality of the compost we sell; it’s gumming up the machine because they’re not breaking down; they’re not really composting the way they’re supposed to, so we need to move to something else,” Mayor David Mitchell said in an interview after the meeting.
The bags are often partially or completely made of plastic, Smits told council. Because of that, when compost is processed at the facility, bags that haven’t broken down get tangled in the machines, causing unnecessary wear and tear.
The public has been made aware of the proposed by-law, Mitchell said. The next steps will include communicating with businesses that will be affected, such as restaurants.
“There will be an education component there,” Mitchell said. “There will be a second reading and then the plan is a six month educational transition and then they’ll be officially banned.”
The proposed by-law passed a first reading at the last regular council meeting on Jan. 10.
The towns of Lunenburg and Mahone Bay, which both access waste services through the Municipal Joint Services Board, are also working to implement a by-law that would ban the bags.
