The Rural Municipality of Hanover is getting set to kick off another year of its compost program. And, this year, another community will be offered curbside compost pickup.

Katie Derksen is Administrative Assistant for the Public Works department. She explains that in the fall of 2022, they introduced curbside compost pickup for residents of Mitchell. In the fall of 2023, they expanded into Blumenort and now this spring they are including Grunthal. In addition to that, they also host community compost depots where residents are invited to drop off their compostable material at a central location.

According to Derksen, community compost depots will start this month in both New Bothwell and Kleefeld. In New Bothwell, they will be held on Mondays, beginning May 6th at the New Bothwell Rec Centre from 5 pm to 8 pm. 

In Kleefeld, community compost depots will be held on Wednesdays, starting May 8th at the Kleefeld Fire Hall from 5 pm to 8 pm. 

Derksen says they will also hold community compost depots in Mitchell, but only in the fall. Those will take place on Saturdays from September 28th until October 26th, running from 9 am to 3 pm. 

As for curbside compost pickup, Derksen says they will be held in Mitchell on Thursdays from May 9th to June 27th and then again from August 22nd to October 24th. 

In Blumenort, curbside compost pickup will happen on Fridays from May 10th to June 14th and then again from September 6th to October 25th. 

And, in Grunthal, curbside compost pickup will be held on Thursdays from May 9th to June 13th and then again from September 5th to October 24th. 

Derksen says though only three communities are currently offering curbside compost pickup, the plan is that one day each of the communities in Hanover will have the service. She notes it usually takes a bit of time for the program to gain momentum in a community. To date, 415 residences are using the service in Mitchell, 144 residences in Blumenort, and 90 in Grunthal. 

Derksen says community compost depots are not scheduled this year for either Blumenort or Grunthal. Each of those communities now has curbside pickup. She says the reason why Mitchell has both the curbside pickup and the community compost depot is because that is what they requested. 

"They tend to have a lot of oak tree leaves that are falling in the fall, and are needing those," explains Derksen. "Either additional bins or additional ways to get rid of the compostable product in the fall time. So, the community decided to give them their community compost depots in fall."

Derksen says the municipality is still dealing with a lot of contaminants that get added to the compostable material. 

"We're still trying to perfect our process," she adds.

According to Derksen, the most common contaminants are garbage bags and large sticks. Neither of these should be placed in either the compost totes or dropped off at community compost depots. 

Meanwhile, anyone needing to order a compost tote can do so by calling Derksen at 204-346-7129. The totes come in two sizes: 64-gallon and 96-gallon. The cost of a tote is included in a resident's solid waste fee on their tax bill.