Saint John to make all apartment owners bring recycling service to their tenants

Nipun Tiwari · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 23, 2025 10:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

Owners of flat buildings successful Saint John volition soon beryllium required to bring recycling postulation to their tenants.  

Under a bylaw alteration projected astatine metropolis assembly Tuesday night, it would be mandatory for owners of ample flat buildings to registry for on-site recycling collection, which fewer successful the portion person signed up for connected their own.

"It's fitting that connected Earth Day, communal assembly has the accidental to summation the recycling opportunities for our residents," said Tim O'Reilly, the manager of nationalist works and transportation, who presented the proposal to council. 

Councillors approved the recommendation, which would request 1 much ceremonial speechmaking earlier becoming official.

Owners of multi-family dwellings would request to registry for the work by May 31 connected the website Circular Materials, the non-profit that manages recycling postulation the province. 

The flat work itself would statesman Nov 1. 

People surviving successful flat complexes with nary much than 4 units person been capable to recycle since October 2022, erstwhile the metropolis started rolling retired its Waste Wise program, which included curbside recycling and a headdress connected however overmuch garbage could beryllium enactment retired for collection.

"When we introduced curbside recycling and garbage limits, we saw garbage successful the landfill reduced by astir 30 per cent," O'Reilly said.

"But conscionable providing that convenience, work to those flat dwellers is simply a large accidental for citizens."n

But the metropolis besides took mode 1 enactment disposable to tenants whose buildings weren't served. Tenants used to beryllium capable to instrumentality their recycling to ample bluish bins astatine certain locations, including immoderate market store parking lots, but the city decommissioned the bins.

This near tenants with a fewer little charismatic choices: take their recycling to the Crane Mountain landfill operation, astir 18 kilometres from uptown, prosecute a backstage recycling pickup work retired of pocket, oregon anticipation their landlord would connection recycling.

"A batch of residents person been waiting for this," Coun. Paula Radwan said Tuesday of the bylaw change.

"So it's large to spot that they'll beryllium capable to recycle. A batch of radical did extremity up missing the bluish bins due to the fact that they wanted to recycle. So this is going to springiness you the accidental to bash it again."

A unit study submitted to assembly says determination would beryllium nary outgo to owners for recycling bins oregon postulation but owners are liable for providing abstraction for bins that are besides accessible for collection. 

The metropolis is resorting to making registration a request aft an underwhelming magnitude of gathering owners successful the portion met the archetypal registration deadline, which was Jan 31.

A unit study says that successful each of the Fundy region, lone 54 apartments were registered for postulation by this date. 

By comparison, the superior region, which includes Fredericton, saw 461 apartments registered by that date.

City staff, the study says, judge the by-law changes successful Fredericton compelling registration made the cardinal difference. 

The Fundy portion — which includes Saint John, with astir 750 apartments — was 1 of respective regions with a January deadline. 

The May deadline is intended for the adjacent artifact of regions, including Miramichi and the Acadian Peninsula, and owners from different regions who missed the day successful January.

Recycling services for buildings registered by Jan 31 volition statesman May 1.