The spanking new stadium at Lansdowne Park will have proper recycling bins for plastic and cans by the next Redblacks game on Aug. 15, the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group says.
The City of Ottawa owns the stadium but, OSEG, the Ottawa Redblacks’ corporate owners, run it. A foul-up in securing well-marked bins by the time of the team’s first two games at home has meant making do with labelled garbage bins. That hasn’t been working out, with fans throwing recyclables — even beer cans that can be returned for money — into the trash.
Confronted on Twitter by a disappointed stadiumgoer after Saturday night’s game, Mayor Jim Watson said that shouldn’t be happening.
"Commitment to sustainability" fail. Recycling is basic. #RedBlacks #Fury #Ottawa @JimWatsonOttawa @OttawaCitizen http://t.co/lDwJXRB0Yt—
(@Chapmandala) August 05, 2014
OSEG spokesman Barre Campbell agreed.
“On a project the size of Lansdowne at TD Place, every activity and delivery is planned and tightly timed to mesh together,” he told the Citizen by email. “Unfortunately, a supply chain delay prevented us from receiving/deploying the equipment we need for comprehensive trash/recycle management at TD Place in time for opening night. As a temporary measure, we deployed large bins clearly labelled for trash, paper products and cans around facility but unfortunately those labels were not fully respected and we were unable to completely sort all recyclable materials from those bins.”
TD Place will have its full complement of recycling bins and sorting equipment by the next time the Redblacks take the field, Campbell said. They play the Edmonton Eskimos on Friday, Aug. 15.
dreevely@ottawacitizen.com
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