A spokesperson for the Rural Municipality of Hanover says they are looking for ways to cut down on the amount of waste going to landfills. Lisa Baldwin, Manager of Recreation and Community Services says that is why they have planned community compost depots for Mitchell on the first three Saturdays of October.

"Composting is something that is one strategy for helping to do that," notes Baldwin. "Mitchell is gung ho and ready to go, so we're going to use them as kind of a pilot."

The depots will be held October 3rd, 10th and 17th from 9am to 3pm at the Mitchell Arena. The material collected will be composted and screened at the Steinbach landfill and the compost will then be made available for the public to pick up free of charge.

The list of items to be composted includes garden waste, weeds without seeds, grass clippings, leaves, vegetables and fruit, coffee grounds and filters, tea leaves, egg shells, bread, plain rice and plain pasta. Items that won't be accepted include meat, fish, bones, eggs, dairy products, oily foods, sauces, pet waste, diseased plants, metals, synthetic materials, plastic or petroleum products.

"The depots are going to be staffed," notes Baldwin. "The biggest concern with compost is you don't want to have contamination."

Baldwin says they are really hoping to see a lot of yard waste and leaves brought to the depots in order to cut down on the amount of burning in the community this autumn.

According to Baldwin, compost depots are not a regular event in the municipality but she says there are some communities that are now trying it out.

"We're going to try and do some introductory ones," explains Baldwin. "And then we're going to kind of look at the data and see if it is actually working or is waste being diverted from the landfill and then make a comprehensive plan based on that."

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