Trash talking
Persons with disabilities lay out considerations for St. John’s
The City of St. John’s is still considering details around automated garbage collection, to be introduced in 2018, including how to best to serve individuals unable to manoeuvre the standard -issue curbside bins.
The City of St. John’s is still considering details around automated garbage collection, to be introduced in 2018, including how to best to serve individuals unable to manoeuvre the standard-issue curbside bins.
The city is moving away from net-covered garbage, going instead with permanent bins to be picked up directly by the garbage trucks, rather than by city staff.
The exact size of hard-plastic bins to be placed curbside is still being determined, confirmed Coun. Danny Breen, chair of the public works committee.
A round of public consultations was already completed on the change, including surveys through Engage St. John’s and outreach at facilities around the city. Plus, automated garbage was the topic of a special meeting of the city’s accessibility and inclusion committee, where bins were a focus.
“The installation of this type of (bin) device is absolutely appropriate, as long as it does not
take away from any person’s independence,” said Nancy Reid, the representative for the Coalition of Persons with Disabilities on the committee, reiterating the thinking there.
She told The Telegram the
bottom line is people are interested in seeing something that does not change where they are now, in terms of the ability to complete daily tasks.
The idea is to be as inclusive as possible.
Deputy Mayor Ron Ellsworth, chair of the inclusion committee, acknowledged automated garbage has already been introduced elsewhere, including neighbouring Mount Pearl and Paradise. However, he said, St. John’s has a larger population, more accessible transit and more medical facilities within its borders when compared to the other communities, suggesting more people here might look to be exempted from automated pickups.
“Just because (the City of Mount Pearl and Town of Paradise) haven’t had any issues doesn’t mean we’re not going to have any,” he said, explaining it’s a matter of seeing any potential issues before the 2018 roll-out.
Breen said he hopes to have decisions on things like the standard bin size before Labour Day, factoring in all feedback to date.
In terms of other everyday concerns for people, The Telegram’s “Inclusion Now” series looks further at accessibility and inclusion for persons with disabilities, including the general desire for accommodations to allow people to maintain personal independence. The series of stories was published earlier this month and is available in its entirety online at thetelegram.com.