Bi-weekly garbage collection idea quickly trashed by city councillors

Household garbage should continue to be picked up once a week, West Kelowna city council says.

Councillors were clear this week they wanted no part of a suggestion to shift the curbside pick-up of trash to every second week as part of a plan to reduce garbage being sent to the Glenmore dump.

“If we were to even look at going to bi-weekly garbage collection, I would be Àghting that tooth and nail,” Coun. Rick De Jong said.

Such a shift would be particularly onerous on large families, he said.

“Younger families that are larger tend to have more recycling and more waste,” De Jong said, adding more rats might be drawn into neighbourhoods if people had to store garbage longer on their property.

“It’s a complete waste of time to even consider going to bi-weekly garbage collection,” Coun. Duane Ophus said.

“Garbage stinks, OK?” Coun. Carol Zanon said. “What are you supposed to do with it? Keep it in your refrigerator?”

A regional district review committee proposed moving to bi-weekly garbage collection throughout the Central Okanagan as one of several strategies aimed at reducing volumes of trash trucked to the landfill. West Kelowna Mayor Doug Findlater criticized the make-up of the 30-member review committee.

“It’s not very representative,” Find-later told regional district waste reduction manager Peter Rotheisler.

“It’s mostly civil servants from Interior Health and various municipal people and as well people who have a corporate interest in all of this,” Findlater said. “Out of 30, I see three that are listed as bona Àde residents. I really feel the consultation process is lacking.”

Other suggestions from the committee included requiring residents to use only clear plastic bags for their household garbage, so the contents could be more easily inspected by ofÀcials to ensure it doesn’t contain recyclable materials.

The committee also suggested reducing the frequency of yard waste pick-up, currently done every second week through much of the year.

Rotheisler said yard waste volumes had increased Àve-fold since the collection carts were deployed in 2010.