IT APPEARS doubtful that the city will revive a recycling program using two local companies.
The chances of doing that were debated at a May 28 committee of the whole meeting after city officials said that bringing back what had been a pilot program was too expensive.
The city-financed pilot program, started in November 2011 and ended the next spring, involved Geier Waste taking recyclable household paper, cardboard and plastics from a self-serve depot at the old Co-op property to the privately-run Do Your Part business in Thornhill.
It was replaced by a free service, also based on a self-serve depot, offered by Waste Management but it stopped this March, citing cost. City official Tara Irwin told councillors reviving the Geier Waste/Do Your Part program was possible but that “history has shown it is expensive for the city to use Do Your Part.”
Irwin said Do Your Part had also submitted a plan for curbside recycling but that it would cost too much as well. The committee of the whole meeting was called to go over city plans to divert as much material as possible from its landfill.
Councillors also considered a program to increase the collection of household organics, namely lawn and yard trimmings and suitable kitchen organics, noting that as much as 40 per cent of waste now going into the landfill is made up of compostable material. The city now picks up such material from homes each Monday.
Councillor Stacey Tyers favoured the idea of an expanded organics program and wanted to know if the $50,000 council has earmarked for recycling of some sort this year would cover the cost.
Public works director Rob Schibli told Tyers that the money would be enough to start a year-round program. In the end, council deferred any decisions with mayor Dave Pernarowski calling the session “Round One” of a discussion that will continue.
One of the challenges facing the city, both Irwin and Schibli told council, is the unknown impact of provincial regulations coming into force next year placing more responsibility on the producers of packaging and printed material to provide for the recycling of the material.
How that is going to work and how it is going to be financed and how it will affect the city’s current garbage collection operation will be further elaborated by Irwin after she participates in a June webinar.
Councillor Brian Downie said he wants to see a study done to determine what kind of recycling program would work in advance of the coming changes. “Getting something on paper is really what we need,” Downie said.
Councillor Lynne Christiansen said she would like to see how much the solution of city worm-composing would cost.
Warehousing waste paper products for the next year until the new regulations was also considered, but the cost of the bailer that would be necessary to bundle up the material and arrangements for outside storage was deemed prohibitive.