According to statistics released by the town, 70 per cent of Cochrane households have been utilizing the green bin compost program launched in mid-April, more than doubling the amount of Cochrane waste being diverted from landfills.

Waste and recycling manager Fabrizio Bertolo says he's impressed with how Cochranites quickly adopted the program as part of their household waste regime.

"We did so much in terms of communications and education that we were really hoping to see this number," says Bertolo. "So many people were waiting for this program and so they embraced it right away."

The collection of compostables has significantly increased the amount of waste diverted from landfills, and that's good news for the end goal of Cochrane.

"It's huge," says Bertolo. "We have been able increase our diversion rate by over 100 per cent. It was 31 per cent before the organics collection and now it's 65 per cent, so it's a big jump ahead and it gets us closer to our 80 per cent diversion rate goal for the Town of Cochrane by 2020."

There are some people, though, who haven't yet started using the bins and others who strictly use it for yard trimmings and not food waste

"Our challenge now is to try and get onboard with those residents who are not using it yet. We're going to try to educate them and try to understand the barriers preventing them from getting onboard.,"

They'll also be returning to the streets to examine bin useage in July as a followup to the checks made early in the program. 

On the flip side of the coin is the rich compost material they are able to provide for local gardens and lawns. They held events in April and May and the town says over 500 families took advantage of the free offering. Compost will once again be offered next spring and in addition to weekend events, Bertolo says they'll hold events on weekdays with hours extending into the early evening so those who work weekends can also take advantage of the program.

Green bin collection days are typically the day after your waste and recycling bins are emptied. The exception to that rule is residents who have a Friday pickup, in which case their green bins are collected on Monday.