Heavy garbage pickup back on track
The heavy garbage collection will return to the Cape Breton Regional Municipality after all.
Councillors had voted in favour of a motion that would see the reinstatement of the popular pickup but it had been on hold until the municipality knew if it had a surplus at the end of the current fiscal year.
This afternoon’s announcement will see the pickup back on track for May 1 when residents of eligible properties will have to have their items at curbside no later than 6 a.m. that day. Streets will only be visited once, according to Francis Campbell, the CBRM’s solid waste manager.
“I encourage residents who have questions about heavy garbage, to contact the waste management hotline,” he said in a press release.
The CBRM recently approved an operating budget of almost $149 million and $31 million capital budget but it’s the $250,000 allocation for heavy garbage that has traditionally sparked some of the most vocal public debate.
While it’s a relatively small line item, given the overall size of the CBRM budget, it is something that is near and dear to the hearts of ratepayers.
Originally it was cut from the budget in an effort to balance it.
There was some question whether the CBRM would end the year in the black due to snow removal related to last week’s blast of winter weather. Chief financial officer Marie Wash couldn’t be reached Friday afternoon to clarify the amount of the surplus.
To review the guidelines for heavy garbage collection, you can visit CBRM’s website at www.cbrm.ns.ca or phone the waste management hotline at (902) 567-1337. Educators are available to answer questions from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday.