CITY COUNCIL TALKING TRASH
Big changes under consideration for garbage collection in Regina.
Q What are the proposals?
A There are two proposals on the table, to be introduced Thursday at a meeting of the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee.
One proposal is that the city permanently move to biweekly garbage collection from November to March, except for a couple of weeks over Christmas. The city piloted this model in winter 2017-18.
According to feedback from 12,000 residents in an online survey, two-thirds adapted to the new schedule and 61 per cent of respondents said it should be permanent.
The bigger change would introduce user-pay garbage collection.
That would mean flipping the current system, which sees garbage collection covered by property taxes and curbside recycling appearing as a monthly utility bill.
In the proposed system, garbage would be user-pay, charged on the monthly water bill, while recycling would be covered by property taxes.
A curbside organics, or “green bin,” program, may be introduced at some point: City council should see a report in September to consider a permanent organics program.
Q How would a user-pay garbage system work, what would it cost, and when would it happen?
A Those details haven’t been completely ironed out, because adopting this system is ultimately up to a city council vote.
“One of the options, which is the status quo, obviously there wouldn’t be much of a time lag to continue,” said Lisa Legault, the city’s director of solid waste. “However, depending on the complexity, it may be as early as mid-2019 or into 2020.”
If “pay-as-you-throw” were implemented, households would be charged based on the size of brown bin they opt for. The smallest bin would cost the least. Residents could have a larger bin, or more than one bin, but it would come at an extra cost.
The discount would be based on the size of bin and not the frequency of collection: If you have a smaller bin but still only fill it once a month, you would be billed the same as someone with a smaller bin who sets their bin out weekly.
“When you alter frequency of collection, or customize, then the costs of just administering that program become very high,” said Legault.
If Regina were to adopt this method, it would not be the first. Moose Jaw already has user-pay garbage, which costs $9.77 per household per month, while Saskatoon is exploring the system.
“Across Canada, many communities have adopted a pay-as-youthrow option and have seen a reduction in the amount of waste that is disposed and an increase in waste reduction and diversion,” said Legault.
Q What is the ultimate goal here?
A City administration is hoping to divert 65 per cent of residential waste from the landfill by 2020. Since 2014, Regina households have diverted only 18 to 20 per cent of their waste from the landfill.
Maxing out all of the options — including the Big Blue Bin, hazardous waste drop-offs and leaf and yard waste depots — Legault said the best success rate could currently be 25 per cent.
“We need to motivate our residents to do more, but they can’t do more unless we provide them with more initiatives,” she said.
“We need to get an organics program into the mainstream,” Legault added. “Right now, organics represents 50 per cent of the waste that’s still in the garbage cart.”
Q Why is there a need to divert waste from the landfill?
A The current landfill has 28 years left in terms of capacity. Once it is full, the city will have to invest a large amount of money into a new piece of land. Plus, landfills are expensive to operate.
Then, there is the environmental impact: Landfills create greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental hazards, said Legault.
“Not having to build another landfill is the most desirable approach to waste management.”