Council Says A Big NO To Bi-Weekly Garbage Collection

It was an issue that tied up the former Council for 14 months and in the end the City returned to right where they started - but nevertheless the issue of garbage came up in Wednesday evening’s special Council meeting debating the 2021 Operating Budget.

The proposal was to eliminate the four months of weekly collection - June to September - and revert to bi-weekly garbage collection throughout the entire year. The proposal also provided the continuance of one week of free dumping of organic residential waste twice a year - one in the Spring and one in the Fall - to allow residents to dispose of such things as leaves and small branches.

It should be noted the free dumping of organic yard waste ends up in the landfill because the City does not have the ability to compost it at the present time.

Speaking on the issue director of public works and utilities Darrin Stephanson said that garbage studies support the move to year round bi-weekly garbage collection and it would also have a large cost saving.

The saving would be just over $88,000.

“We found increases in June and July (compared to bi-weekly collection) and August and September aren’t out of line with kilograms (averaged per household) in bi-weekly months,” Stephanson said.

Stephanson went on to explain that the City had conducted waste studies which indicated weekly collection was working against efforts to divert materials that can be diverted or recycled as well as materials that are compostable.

“They are over 10 kilograms (per household) that are diverted…when we switch to weekly the amount almost doubles,” he said.

Stephanson pointed out that there is still a low uptake in recycling with only 60 percent of what could be diverted not ending up in the waste stream. He attributed weekly waste collection as contributing to the less than desirable uptake in diverting waste.

In the past Stephanson has spoken about how proper recycling could add up to big savings for residents.

When it came to the second bin option to dispose of waste he said that program had a small uptake with only 21 out of 12,000 residential customers taking the City up on the offer. Residents can have a second bin but the cost is a $50 initial fee plus the regular monthly rate.

“There is a lot in our residential waste stream that does not belong there,” he said.

“I dread the backlash,” Councillor Doug Blanc said in initiating Council’s discussion. “I just have some real problems with this.”

“There are two issues out there, water and garbage” that citizens are really concerned about, Councillor Blanc said.

When he found out that the weekly collection was only four and not five months long Councillor Blanc said “personally I believe it should be expanded in the Fall (to include October)….a lot of waste is generated then.”

Blanc spoke about October being a tough month for some as that is when the leaves fall and more than a few residents do not have a truck so they stockpile it and throw it into the regular waste collection over the Winter months.

Councillor Crystal Froese, who was in favour of the previous Council’s foray into changing waste collection, this time stayed out of the minefield the issue creates.

“We have been down this road before. If you want to know people’s opinions on garbage just change it,” Councillor Froese said. “I think it is pretty loud and clear about the garbage they (residents) were prepared to pay extra for the Summer…this is one service they want to pay for and are OK with.”

“Honestly this is one can I do not want to open, no pun intended…I just don’t see this going anywhere.”

Councillor Heather Eby said she remembered the lessons she learnt from former Councillor Brian Swanson and how garbage was at the top of the list.

“The first thing I learnt from him (former Councillor Swanson) is don’t mess with people’s garbage,” Councillor Eby said. “I really feel the citizens of Moose Jaw are in favour with what they are paying.”

Councillor Dawn Luhning similarly left the bins where they stand.

“Been there, done that,” Councillor Luhning said.

Councillor Luhning said that in the past it was decided to have a comprehensive plan when it came to the entire issue of waste and that just bringing up the issue of moving to bi-weekly alone was not what was happening.

“I am not going down the path of bi-weekly garbage collection,” she said.

In a unanimous vote Council decided not to move towards year round bi-weekly collection.

During the last Council’s tenure there were strong moves to convert the entire city to curbside or front lane collection as a cost saving measure.

The move lead to a major backlash from the community and Council seemingly continuously debating the issue for 14 months. The City attempted to gauge resident’s opinions through a $10,000 telephone survey while at the same time phasing in curbside collection. When the survey came back with a large majority opposed to curbside the majority of Council still voted in favour of curbside. Two weeks later, following a major backlash from residents, Council voted against curbside and garbage collection reverted to how it originally was collected.