Going greener
West Hants Council continues green bin rollout for entire municipality
Garbage collection in West Hants is officially going to get a little greener.
Council had previously approved the establishment of a municipality- wide green bin collection service in September 2017. Councillors voted to rescind the rollout of green bin collection during a special session of council on Jan. 15, but the motion was defeated, with only councillors Kathy Monroe, Rupert Jannasch and David Keith voting in favour of rescinding the motion.
That means collection, set to begin for the entire municipality on April 1, will move forward.
Warden Abraham Zebian said council would work hard to offer the service without any additional costs to residents.
“It was an important issue at the last election, not just in my district but from many residents across the municipality,” Zeb- ian said following the meeting. “They’re happy that it’s coming. We believe that it’s a service young families and existing families are looking for.”
The full costs of the service won’t be known until the upcoming budget, but council previously determined that residents would pay for green bin collection through the general tax rate, similar to fire prevention, policing and other municipal services.
Zebian said green bin collection will likely average out to $39 per year for the majority of resi- dents.
During discussions on rescinding green bin service, acting chief administrative officer Martin Laycock warned that rescinding council’s previous motion could have lead to legal action.
Hantsport could see cost savings
Hantsport Coun. Robbie Zwicker said residents in the community could see their costs go down as a result of the municipality-wide rollout.
Once the new municipal-wide service goes into effect, the community of Hantsport will no longer have a separate area rate for green bin collection; rather, it will be through the general rate like the rest of the municipality.
“The big thing I’ve heard from my residents is ‘don’t take away my green bin’ or ‘don’t make it smaller,’” Zwicker said. “If they can keep their service and at a reduced cost? What a wonderful thing.”