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User-pay system proposed for garbage collection in Kincardine By Liz Dadson |
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If Kincardine council implements a user-pay system for garbage collection, you can say goodbye to the "free" 26 bag tags you've been receiving each year. In committee-of-the-whole Wednesday night (Sept. 7), public works manager Jim O'Rourke outlined a proposed solid waste management user-pay system which would increase the cost of a bag tag to $2.50 in 2013, and to $3.50 by 2018. Tipping fees would increase to $100 per tonne in 2013, and to $115 per tonne by 2018. It's a way to bring the prices in line with neighbouring municipalities, said O'Rourke, and to make the cost of garbage collection strictly user-pay. This means if you want that bag of garbage picked up at the curb, you pay for it. Kincardine's current landfill tipping fee is $85 per tonne, while Brockton's is $100 per tonne; Saugeen Shores, $100 per tonne; Huron-Kinloss, $75 per tonne; South Bruce Peninsula, $95 per tonne; Northern Bruce Peninsula, $80 per tonne; and South Bruce and Arran-Elderslie, charged per load. In Kincardine a bag tag costs $2, while in Brockton it's $1.50; Saugeen Shores, $2; Huron-Kinloss, $2; South Bruce Peninsula, $2; Northern Bruce Peninsula, two "free" bags per week; South Bruce and Arran-Elderslie, two "free" bags per week and $3 for each additional bag. O'Rourke's plan also calls for the "mothballing" of the Ward 3 landfill in order to save money. Once he laid out the operating and capital costs, and the proposed revenue from increased tipping fees and bag tag prices, O'Rourke went from a solid waste management deficit of $180,000 for 2011, to a profit of $103,588 in 2012 which would be transferred into a waste management reserve. As fees increased annually by three-per-cent, the transfers to reserves would increase exponentially over the next five years (2013-2018), said O'Rourke, providing reserves of $1.2-million by 2018. This includes expenses to close Ward 1 ($115,000), to open Cell 2 at the new Ward 2 waste management centre in Armow ($600,000), and to purchase a rebuilt compactor ($400,000). Ultimately, said O'Rourke, the process would do the following:
Councillor Randy Roppel asked what O'Rourke meant by mothballing the Ward 3 landfill. "Staff is recommending that as a financial savings, we not operate the Ward 3 landfill site at this time," said O'Rourke. He said there would be a minor annual monitoring cost even if the site is closed. "I thank you for a good, clear, understandable report," said councillor Jacqueline Faubert. "This is a big community issue. Before we make any decisions on this, we need to allow the community to voice its opinion about these options." "If people read the stories in the media, you're going to get lots of comments," said deputy mayor Anne Eadie. "We need some kind of vehicle to bring their comments to our attention," said Faubert. Roppel said these user-pay fees aren't really fees, but taxes, and the ratepayers are already paying a 12.5-per-cent hike in municipal taxes this year - the last thing they need is another tax. "Yes, before we implement any of this, we need feedback from the public," he said. O'Rourke said there is a lot more to this issue than just financial concerns. "People are already involved in user-pay systems with hydro and water," he said. "There is a sense of fairness to it. The increased fees have proven to make people pay attention to what they're putting into that bag of garbage before they put it at the curb."
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Councillor Ron Coristine said his only hesitation in all of this is the increased costs for people on fixed incomes and seniors in the community. "We could price ourselves out of the market. We want to remain an attractive place to stay and retire." He urged council to look at improving the education component of recycling and reducing the amount of garbage produced. Eadie
said she has been trying to get a meeting organized with Bruce Area Solid
Waste Recycling (BASWR) to see if that company can recycle more items.
"We have to provide sufficient options for people to not put items in
the garbage bag. We have to tell BASWR what we want recycled - things
like Styrofoam - and we want a Green Box wet garbage program." She also asked if there is any consideration in the area about putting up an incinerator to burn garbage safely. Councillor Candy Hewitt, council's representative on BASWR, cautioned council that for each additional service or product it wants recycled, there is extra cost. "Once you see the pricing, you might not want it that much." "Eliminating the 26 'free' bag tags is going to be a bone of contention," said mayor Larry Kraemer, "and a difficult sell." However, he had no problem with closing the Ward 3 site and operating the one waste centre properly staffed and with regular hours. Councillor Kenneth Craig asked if any consideration had been given to harvesting the methane gas from the landfill site. "They do it at the Regional Municipality of Waterloo," said O'Rourke, "but there would not be enough quantity here to be of much value." In response to a question about whether other municipalities had tried the user-pay system for garbage collection, O'Rourke said Saugeen Shores has it in place. "Bill Jones was the public works manager when they implemented it three years ago," said O'Rourke. "They lost their shirt because people paid attention to reducing, reusing and recycling and cut the amount of garbage they produced. "Financially, it was a disaster, but ultimately, it was a success because it diverted waste from the landfill and extended the lifespan of the site to 60 years from 20 years." "That's as important as anything - saving the landfill site," said Craig. Councillor Maureen Couture said the former Town of Kincardine went to a user-pay system in 1994 and got rid of free bag tags. "We lost our shirt too but we extended the landfill site by 20 years." The proposed waste management user-pay system will be discussed further at the Sept. 21 meeting. Scrolling stops when you move your mouse inside the scroll area. You can click on the ads for more
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