Ponoka's Waste Transfer Station shifts to summer schedule

PONOKA -- Ponoka's Waste Transfer Station is shifting to its summer schedule.

Starting Friday, May 1, residents will be able to access the facility from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday, excluding statutory holidays. The summer hours will last until October 1, according to the Town of Ponoka.

The Township notes that members of the public are welcome to bring compostable yard waste to the transfer station free of charge. If yard waste is bagged, residents must open the bags and empty the contents onto the organics pile. The Waste Transfer Station does not accept kitchen waste for its compost pile as the facility is not set up to compost that type of material.

Kitchen waste can only be composted through the curbside green cart program, where the waste is transported to an approved composting site. In addition, all items brought to the facility for disposal at the regional landfill must be less than eight feet long.

Meantime, starting next week, weekly pick up of green carts will begin for the season and will continue until November 1. Common compostable items that can be placed in your green cart include food waste, paper coffee filters and coffee grounds, tea bags, meat, baked goods, dairy products, eggs, soiled cardboard, facial tissue, grass clippings, and leaves.

Ponoka staff remind the public to refrain from placing plastic bags or household garbage in green carts.