About 32 tonnes of organic waste was collected at community compost depots in the Rural Municipality of Hanover this year. That is down a little from last year, even though there were more depots held in 2017.

Lisa Baldwin is Manager of Recreation and Community Services for Hanover. She says in 2016 they held 38 depots but took in about 39 tonnes. This year there were 51 depots.

"I'm going to make the assumption that it's based on the season, we had a pretty dry season," suggests Baldwin. "Grass is not growing as much, so there's not as much materials to compost."

Baldwin says in August of last year they started a trial run where depots were held in each of their communities. This year they ran a set schedule in each community.

"I'm going to be making a recommendation to council that we replicate the program in 2018," she says.

Baldwin says by keeping the program the same, residents get used to the routine. This also allows the municipality to have a better comparison from one year to the next.

According to Baldwin, running the program cost the municipality about $10,000 this year. That pays for the trailer and staff as well as the transportation and processing of materials. The waste is delivered to Overton Environmental near Giroux.

Though composting is not a money-making initiative for Hanover, Baldwin suggests the goal is that these compost depots will not only help the environment but will also mean less waste will be brought to the landfill, resulting in cost savings.

She thinks the idea of composting is certainly catching on in Hanover.