These containers pictured left, called Moluks, have been at the Transfer Station for several months now.
They are managed by Peterborough County, and their contents are disposed of at the County composting facility at Harper Rd. The objective is to extend green waste collection to residents outside the Millbrook village, where a pilot project has been collecting waste through a Green Bin program. This program diverts green waste to a composting facility called Sus Global in Belleville.
While the objectives are the same, because their destinations are different, there are some discrepancies in what each program can accept. Both collect a wide variety of food waste, including fat, meat, dairy and bones- items which are not suited to residential composting.
Waste disposed of in the Moluk units at the Transfer Station should be deposited directly into the unit or wrapped in newsprint or placed in a paper bag. These units not accept plastic or compostable bags, but signs explaining this were late arriving, so there has been some contamination of contents in these units. A complete list of accepted items is available by searching for the organics program at www.ptbocounty.ca. Transfer Station Staff indicate that each week one of the two units is emptied of waste averaging diverting approximately 1,000 lbs of waste from the Bensfort landfill each week.
The Millbrook Green Waste program is also making an impact on our garbage volumes. Staff report that over the eight-month period from January to August this year, this program diverted more than 96.8 tonnes of organic waste from the landfill. Nice work, everyone! KG
