A Warman public works crew cleans up the area around the green organics waste bins in Warman on Tuesday, May 19

The green yard waste collection bins in Warman are being well-utilized this spring, according to Warman Public Works and Utilities Manager Jason Wiebe.

But unfortunately, some people are choosing not to follow the relatively simple rules.

During a Warman City Council committee of the whole video-conference meeting on Tuesday, May 19, Wiebe said civic employees are often assigned to clean up  the grounds around the green bins.

“The bins aren’t full, but people for some reason choose to leave bags of leaves or grass clippings and tree branches outside the bins rather than put them inside,” said Wiebe. “That means staff need to be pulled from other duties to go and pick the stuff up.”

Wiebe said residents have used the organics waste bin service more this year than any other year.

“That’s probably due to the cancellation of the spring back-alley clean-up,” said Wiebe. “That program had to be cancelled because of the COVID-19 health restrictions.”

Wiebe said the green bins have been emptied “almost daily” but that hasn’t prevented the inevitable piles of waste outside the bins.

Warman City Councillor Richard Beck suggested that  because one of the two green bins was only accessible from one side, that may discourage people from filling the bin completely.

Wiebe replied the decision to have limited accessibility on that bin was due to concerns over vandalism because one side of the bin was outside the range of security cameras mounted nearby that monitor the grounds.

Warman City Councillor Trevor Peterson noted that the organics bins were not the only location in the city that has been hit with vandalism in recent weeks. Many of the parks and other public spaces have also been targeted.

“Most people are respectful of the rules,” said Peterson. “But there’s always a minority that aren’t. Would it be possible to have additional cameras or even high-definition cameras installed in those locations?”

Wiebe said the existing security cameras, particularly those at Prairie Oasis Park and the skateboard park, have proved useful in helping police identify suspects involved in vandalism in the past.

However, he added, there are limitations with all video  recording devices, and adding more cameras would be very expensive.