City Council Approves Changes To Garbage Pickup; Clear Bags and Bi-Weekly Trash Pickup
/City Council has endorsed adopting the clear bags and bi-weekly trash pickup as part of an the Waste Management Master Plan Update during a meeting on Monday night.
File Photo.
The summary of changes in waste management services are the following:
Requiring the use of clear garbage bags for waste collection
Moving to every-other-week residential garbage collection starting Oct. 31 at the same time as the introduction of weekly Green Bin (household organic waste) collection service that will reduce the bulk of current garbage material
Preparing for the provincially-directed switch to producer-responsible recycling program delivery, instead of it being a municipal service, starting Jan. 1
Bringing a report to Council in the future to amend the Waste Collection Enforcement By-law to include new definitions of the waste stream, collection requirements, and penalties for non-compliance as an option if public education efforts are not effective in changing disposal behaviours
The changes would result in garbage collection would shift to every other week while Green Bin and Blue Bin collection would be provided weekly.
A ‘clear bag’ program refers to the use of a garbage bag that is transparent or see-through. According to the City, use of clear bags for garbage encourages waste diversion in several ways:
Clear bag Programs improves worker safety and allows Transfer Station attendants the ability to conduct a quick assessment of the contents within the clear bag(s) to ensure that no recyclable or hazardous items are in the bag.
Clear bags can serve as a reminder if people forget to separate out these materials from their garbage, as the clear bag allows residents to see what is being thrown out.
Clear bags prompt people to reflect on their waste disposal habits and encourage them to consider waste diversion options.
Clear bags can assist in with the enforcing of municipal material disposal bans by allowing waste collectors to monitor for compliance and reject any bags containing banned items.
