Lehman, Ainsworth know it won’t be popular with some residents
By Bob Bruton, Barrie Examiner
City curbs will only be cluttered with trash bags once every two weeks, beginning in 2015.
Barrie council gave final approval this week to cutting garbage pick-up to once every two weeks, although two bags of waste will still be allowed bi-weekly for homes. One bag of trash can now be collected, once a week, from Barrie homes; tags for more bags can be purchased from the city.
Recyclables, organics and yard waste will still be collected weekly under the new plan, on a five-day cycle, and with no limit on the amount.
Mayor Jeff Lehman says it will be a tough sell going to bi-weekly collection.
“I know this is going to be unpopular with a lot of people,” he said, “but there is no question it is the right thing to do. “Garbage is a core service and our residents do not take changes to it lightly.”
Every-other-week garbage collection has been shown to increase waste diversion from landfills in other municipalities, say city staff, by encouraging recycling.
Greater use of blue, grey and green bins will pay off, Lehman said.
“They are going to save our taxpayers millions of dollars if we can encourage greater use (of recycling containers),” he said. “Certainly we have a philosophy here that we are trying to increase diversion.”
Extending Sandy Hollow landfill’s lifespan delays large expenditures for the city. Closing it would cost $6.5 million, then $600,000 annually for maintenance.
Then there’s the cost of finding another landfill for Barrie’s waste, either within the city limits or by shipping it to another municipality.
The new plan was approved unanimously by council members Monday, but there was still dissension.
“Knowing what I know about some of the homes in my ward, I really have no business voting for bi-weekly garbage pick-up,” said Coun. Bonnie Ainsworth. “(It) is going to be tough on some parts of Ward 1. “It is very very likely not in the best interest of the area of the city I am here to represent.”
She said the city will need to do an extensive education program on the changes, due to short-term housing rentals, and proactive enforcement of yard maintenance bylaws to control garbage storage.
Ainsworth said if bi-weekly trash collection was only to save money, she wouldn’t support it. Rather, she would try to find the savings in other non-essential city programs and services.
Coun. Alex Nuttall convinced council to have staff investigate recycling diapers and pet waste, and the cost, of including it in the new plan.
Coun. Lynn Strachan also wants to look into green bin or organics recycling in multi-residential buildings. She is head of Barrie’s community services committee, which is responsible for waste collection and disposal.
Sandy Coulter, the city’s environmental operations manager, says Barrie’s waste diversion rate is about 45%, and has been for many years.
Picking up every other week means city residents could take better advantage of the weekly recycling and organic waste pick-up, thus diverting more garbage from the landfill.
The new bi-weekly collection system was to begin April 7, 2014, but has now been moved back to Jan. 1, 2015 – after next year’s city vote to elect the next mayor and Barrie councillors.
Changing to bi-weekly garbage pickup will save the city money, reducing the waste collection contract to just more than $4 million annually in 2015 from $4.4 million in 2013.
The new contract will also change container limits for Barrie’s industrial, commercial and institutional sectors to seven a week from 10, beginning April 7, 2014.
But due to storage limits, garbage collection in downtown Barrie will continue to be done weekly.
Changes to multi-residential garbage and organic collection could be considered during 2015 operating budget discussions.
The changes will be part of a new, eight-year contract with BFI Canada for the collection of garbage, recyclables, organics and yard waste. It includes an option to extend the deal for another two years.
The current contract was originally with Waste Services/Frith Regional Waste, which was bought by BFI. Payment for the new contract will be based upon a per-tonne rate; previous collection agreements based compensation on a rate of serviced units.
This isn’t the first time the city has considered changes to its garbage schedule.
On May 1, 2006 the garbage bag limit was reduced to one bag a week from two. The bag tag fee went to $2 from $1 on Sept. 1, 2005, then to $3 on May 1, 2012.
The city’s sustainable waste management strategy aims to extend Sandy Hollow’s lifespan to 2035. In 2008, the landfill’s closing date was pegged at 2017.
Re-compacting waste there added another seven years to Sandy Hollow’s life, taking it to 2024. The strategy aims to add another decade.
Participation study/waste audit of Barrie curbside collection June/July 2013
*27% participation in organics program
*72% participation in blue box program
*77% participation in grey box program
*40% of material in garbage is organics
*4.4% of material in garbage is diapers
Source: City of Barrie
Leave a Reply