WE’RE WARY OF CHANGING BIN SIZES

By no means should the city toss out its ongoing consideration of different sized black bins for garbage, but any changes must be to the benefit of the taxpayer. A committee will consider the proposal of a so-called throw-as-you-go model Wednesday that would involve three sizes of carts: a 120-litre container, the current 240-litre one and a 360-litre cart.

Calgarians would also have the option of buying a tag for an additional bag of trash for the occasional time they have more waste to dispose of.

As we’ve said before, the worry with such a system is that thrifty Calgarians will opt for the smallest bin possible, and then be tempted to deposit their garbage in the blue recycling bin or the green one, intended for recyclables.

Already, the city has reported an increase in the amount of contamination of the blue carts since it reduced collection of the black bins to every other week — a reduction in service that Calgarians weren’t wholly compensated for.

The city itself has admitted to such a fear, which if proven, would quickly gobble up any presumed savings from giving Calgarians a choice in the size of their carts.

Which raises the vital question of whether Calgarians would benefit from the proposal. The garbage trucks have to travel past residences and pick up the refuse regardless of the amount, so where are the savings? Whether the waste is collected in a black, green or blue bin, it still has to be transported and processed.

Coun. Ward Sutherland, who supports offering different sized bins, admits the savings could be illusory.

“We have to taper people’s expectations,” he says. “Whether you have a large cart or the smallest cart, the truck still has to come.”

It’s estimated the purchase of additional bins could cost the city about $10 million, assuming fewer than half of residents choose a smaller size.

That’s a lot of money.

Program costs, including inventory management and cart maintenance, are also expected to rise with the addition of more options.

Garbage collection is one of the fundamental services of municipal government, as unglamorous as it is. If there are savings to be had by offering various sized bins, great. If it’s another sleight of hand that throws taxpayers on the trash heap, then please, move on.

While the option is worth considering, it may well be that when it comes to garbage collection, one size fits all.