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Bin there, done that

SLRD Offers environmentally aware incentive with home composter program Composting kitchen and yard waste can reduce your weekly garbage by up to 50 per cent, and can conserve a significant amount of landfill.

SLRD Offers environmentally aware incentive with home composter program

Composting kitchen and yard waste can reduce your weekly garbage by up to 50 per cent, and can conserve a significant amount of landfill.

That’s why the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District is subsidizing the cost of compost bins for local communities.

The bins will be available to anyone within the SLRD for $34.35 including tax and can be purchased at the SLRD offices in Pemberton or at one of the "Compost Daze" in Whistler.

"Our Compost Daze program helps put people in the mindset that garbage is just a resource in the wrong place, " said Waste Reduction Co-ordinator Wendy Horan.

Compost Daze will take place on Saturdays, July 5, 19 and August 16 and 30 at the Nesters Compactor Site from 10 a.m. until noon. Free information on waste reduction initiatives in the SLRD will be available.

Horan said that Whistler and the surrounding communities have done a fantastic job of reducing waste over the past ten years through recycling, and last year’s Compost Daze program was a huge success.

"Ultimately, if you compost you will be cutting down on the number of trips to the compactor, so if you are lazy at heart, this is the option for you," she said

If you decide to purchase a bin, proof of local residency is required to prevent non-SLRD residents from taking advantage of the deal.

Whistler residents will only be able to purchase the indoor/vermicomposter as the outdoor variety may attract bears and other wildlife.

"That is something we concern ourselves with immensely and are trying to prevent," said Horan.

"The last thing we need is the SLRD’s name attached to a case where a bear had to be destroyed because someone was using one of our bins incorrectly."

The SLRD has contacted the Jennifer Jones Whistler Black Bear Foundation and AWARE to inform them that they will not be selling backyard bins to Whistler residents.

"It keeps our consciences and track record clean," she said.

Horan said that many communities and even a handful or regional districts in BC have adopted a "zero waste" philosophy, where everything in a household is composted, recycled or re-used.

"When you consider that 30 to 50 per cent of our household garbage can be composted zero doesn’t seem so far off," said Horan.

"It’s a big goal but not entirely impossible with the right mindset."