The Saint John community of Crescent Valley has received a $15,000 grant from the Department of Environment and Local Government to help build a recycling program offering a weekly home pick-up service.
Two years ago, the Crescent Valley Resource Centre launched a program to lower the amount of garbage in the neighbourhood. About half of the 300 homes signed up.
Now, with the help of the grant, the centre is trying to bring the rest on board.
Ann Barrett, president of the resource centre, said the program goes a long way in cleaning up the streets in the north end community and instills a sense of pride in what the city deems a priority neighbourhood.
"The majority of the people in Crescent Valley really care about what their community looks like and cutting down on the amount of garbage that's piled up on Thursdays is a real help,” she said.
Barrett said the program gives the residents an opportunity they might not otherwise have.
"If it's a resident, a young mom with children who are walking to the grocery store, to also be carrying recycling would be really difficult and probably impossible in many cases," she said.
When resident Mary Doiron began recycling, she dropped from three garbage bags per week to one. She said she hopes to convince more people to do the same.
Doiron and three other residents have been hired part-time by the resource centre to deliver recycling supplies and educate residents about recycling.
She said bags used to pile up on the curb come garbage day, but the program reduced the number of bags to just a few.
"On one side of the horseshoe there was like 18 bags and on the other side there was like 13, 14 bags, so I have noticed a big difference there," Doiron said.