Solid waste management: Residential yard waste diversion programs and their use in Canada and the northern United States.

摘要

The purpose of this Masters Degree Project is to gather information regarding current residential yard waste management strategies in Canada and the northern United States. This was achieved through a mail out survey that covered all facets of residential yard waste management, from collection and processing to the application or end use of the yard waste materials. The survey was sent to 124 communities in the research area. Ninety-three communities responded which resulted in a 75% return rate.;Part I highlights the residential yard waste diversion program survey and summarizes the survey results. Part II provides background information that reviews current City of Calgary residential yard waste diversion programs, yard waste source reduction options, residential yard waste collection strategies and pertinent composting information. Recommendations for the City of Calgary to consider for future expansion of their residential yard waste diversion program are presented in Part II.;Highlighted recommendations include: (1) Implementing residential source reduction programs, for instance, backyard composting and grasscycling; (2) expanding the current residential leaf drop-off program to include grass and brush; and, (3) exploring the opportunities for marketing compost and/or giving it to residents.;A wide variety of yard waste diversion programs are used in Canada and the northern United States. Rarely do communities overlap with similar programs as each one has unique characteristics.