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ADVISORY: Mount Pearl Expands Backyard Composting Pilot Project

Mount Pearl Expands Backyard Composting Pilot Project
to Encourage Residents to Explore Eco-friendly Waste Diversion
Program relaunches during International Composting Awareness Week following initial success.

May 4, 2022 (Mount Pearl, NL) – Following the tremendous success of the initial Backyard Composting Pilot Program, the City of Mount Pearl will once again offer the opportunity to residents in 2022.

In partnership with the Multi-Materials Stewardship Board (MMSB), two types of compost bins were made available at a discounted rate to residents wishing to participate in the program, designed to collect data on the volume of waste diversion that could be shifted from landfills by engaging in backyard composting.

The program ran from June to September in 2021 and is now being offered again for 2022, appropriately launching during International Composting Awareness Week (May 1st to 7th, 2022).

Interested residents of Mount Pearl can sign up to receive a standard composting bin or a tumbler composting bin, along with a counter collection bin, weigh scale, log sheet, and a quick reference resource kit created by the MMSB.

The subsidized fee to participate in the program is $25 if a standard bin is selected or $50 if a tumbler bin is chosen and, new to the program, that fee will be reimbursed at the conclusion of the pilot for any participant who fully completes their program obligations during the reporting period.

Additionally, interested participants will be supported through a virtual “Learn to Compost” session co-hosted by the city and the MMSB, taking place on Wednesday, May 25th, 2022 from 7pm to 8pm.

In 2021, program results showed that 15 of 25 reporting participants were able to divert over 1,150 pounds of waste from the landfill, an average of 77 pounds per participant.

The 2022 program has space for 25 new participants, and given the expected high demand, they will be selected randomly from those who express interest by signing up at https://www.mountpearl.ca/backyard-composting-programs before the deadline set for Sunday, May 15th, 2022.

This year the program has been also expanded to offer a Compost Bin Purchase Program for any resident interested in engaging with backyard composting. Individuals who choose this stream by the deadline will be able to purchase a compost bin at a reduced rate, but they will not have to report waste diversion data.

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Media Enquiries:
Joshua Jamieson, Marketing and Communications Officer
City of Mount Pearl
(709) 748-1009 |  jjamieson@mountpearl.ca