A report that would have looked at making garbage containers mandatory for curbside pick-up was thrown out by city council in a close 7-6 vote.
The current bylaw means containers have to have lids, but does not make the containers themselves a requirement.
Currently, the city is planning to have a green bin program in place by 2025.
Manager of Solid Waste and Recycling Jason Sherband reminded council of this during the meeting, and because of this recommended the discussion around mandatory garbage bins be pushed ahead for the time being.
“Part of that work is to look at new technology, i.e. automated collection,” explains Sherband. “Our plan is to be in front of council at some point in Q1 of 2022 to present options and obviously seek direction on a path forward. In my opinion it would make sense to hold off on this, let’s see what the feasibility study looks like on the automated collection, let’s see if there’s an appetite from council to move forward, because at that point, then all garbage would be contained in a can.”
The idea of mandatory garbage containers was brought forward by At-Large Councillor Aldo Ruberto, who says he has been receiving complaints by residents about garbage bags being torn apart and thrown around by wildlife before city workers can pick them up.
Ruberto believes the city cannot continue to push this issue off, saying it’s about more than just the clean-up.
“I look at the health and safety of individuals picking up bags,” stresses Ruberto. “It’s ten times more dangerous to pick up a bag than it is to pick up a garbage can. Like I said before it’s not a major issue, but it does irritate different people, different sectors of the city during collection time, and it just keeps on going and going. I bring it up again because I don’t want to see the population wait four more years before we decide for someone to get a garbage can. If $17 is a financial effort for the year, or the next four years, then that person has a bigger problem than getting a garbage can, that’s for sure.”
At-Large Councillor Mark Bentz joined the conversation, and said ideally there should be consultation with city staff.
“I’m sure there’s a number of times where staff goes to pick up the bag and it rips or it’s all over the street, so I’d be really interested to hear the feedback of staff,” says Bentz. “Councillor Ruberto claims that 95 per cent of homes are using cans, I would like to know anecdotally maybe from your staff what that count is like.”
Councillor Bentz says this would be easily acquired information from city staff that could make for a better discussion around the topic.
