In the first month of Surrey's new waste management system, residents have already reduced the amount of garbage headed to the landfill by 35 per cent, simply by separating organics from what would otherwise be considered trash.

For Rob Costanzo, deputy operations manager for the City of Surrey, that's music to his ears, as he never expected residents to take to the new program so fast.

"That's a big shock. I didn't think we were going to drop so quickly," said Costanzo, who noted that if the program had started in January, the total 2012 reduction at 35 per cent would have equated to 21,600 metric tonnes of redirected waste.

The program, introduced Oct. 1, has residents divvying up their waste into three distinct bins, one for organic waste, one for garbage and one for recyclables.

The goal of the program is to reduce Surrey's garbage by 75 per cent by 2015, something Costanzo said may happen even sooner if residents continue their ways.

"We've felt that we would get to a 50 per cent drop in garbage in about two years' time, but given that we have 35 per cent right off the top, we're thinking we'll get to the 50 per cent much sooner," he said.

Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts was equally as thrilled with the results.

"We are very pleased with these early results and so proud of our residents, who are some of the most dedicated and conscientious recyclers in the country," said Watts in a statement.

"We want to establish a new North American standard for waste diversion and, thanks to the commitment of our residents, we are on our way to reaching our goal."

Twitter @questionchris

cpoon@thenownewspaper.com