THE CITY has delayed signing a contract with a province-wide agency to introduce curbside recycling here next spring after the agency itself said it's willing to give municipalities more time to consider its financial offer.
City council had already agreed to the broad terms of a contract with Multi-Material BC and was prepared to make the contract official Monday until the agency made its announcement yesterday afternoon.
Multi-Material BC is a new agency charged with recycling paper and other packaging material and it gave municipalities the option of collecting the material themselves through a subsidy it would provide or having the agency hire someone else.
Council July 22 decided to undertake curbside recycling itself by picking up material every two weeks with garbage collection taking place in the off weeks.
The material would then be taken to a Multi-Material BC depot for sorting and shipping.
But a growing number of municipalities this last week expressed worries about overall costs of the program, prompting Multi-Material BC to make its announcement.
“The program I know probably worked quite a lot better for a municipality like Terrace that didn't have any [curbside] program in place,” said Terrace mayor Dave Pernarowski of the decision to hold off signing the contract until it learns more about possible changes.
“So I understand the concerns that would be expressed by other communities that this wasn't quite the program that fit perfectly, but I would hope that the further discussions don't delay our ability to set up a curbside recycling program.”
Pernarowski said the city will learn more about possible changes this coming week when council members gather in Vancouver for the annual convention of the Union of BC Municipalities.