Council Review: Waste not, want not

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“Waste management systems are a complex beast. It’s like a cake, once you bake it…” —CAO Richard Butts.

”It’s a nice accent to the area, provides warmth and ambiance.” —Councillor David Hendsbee, on patio heaters.

“I don’t like the process, but I love the vision,” —Councillor Tim Outhit, on Dalhousie’s new bike lanes.

BAG TAG

What was supposed to be a first reading for new garbage regulations jack-knifed into lengthy discussions on bag limits, bag colours and what constitutes “loose” trash. As the regulations were proposed, the city would have changed household garbage limits to four clear bags, with an opaque bag “nesting” inside one for privacy’s sake.

Deputy mayor Darren Fisher smartly added a motion to get rid of the confusing nesting option; altering the bylaw to three clear bags and one large dark one, and losing the “little mystery bag,” as Tim Outhit dubbed it.

The new garbage rules will also remove boxboard (i.e. cereal boxes) from green bin material (unless it’s holding wet compost) and ban yard waste from collection unless it’s inside a Kraft paper bag. Councillor Steve Craig wanted an amendment to include those changes in the upcoming public meeting on the subject, though he was out-voted.

All of these ideally will cut back on individual waste, so at their core aren’t bad ideas. The staff report notes processing boxboard at the recycling plant is a third of the cost as at compost facilities, and clear bags are apparently a “powerful diversion strategy.” But the confusion at council about what goes where doesn’t bode well for the general public’s use for these rules. Though, about 80 percent of residents already comply with the new four-bag limit, so this won’t be too hard of an adjustment for most. Maybe it’ll be tough for that Dartmouth homeowner Gloria McCluskey brought up, who apparently fills several large bags of garbage with dog shit each week. Best of luck to him.

We’ll have a public meeting about these bag laws sometime in November, where you can voice your bewildered displeasure.

RESTAURANT TRASH

First reading was also given to new “sidewalk cafe” rules, which enhance the shaggy regulations currently overseeing restaurant patios. Staff has noted in its report that currently patios are governed by three different by-laws, none of which really address the construction, design or operation of those structures. As a result, the city deals with multiple incidents of people tripping, slipping and falling every year.

That’s probably why the city wanted greater insurance coverage if businesses were going to have their patios open for longer periods. The new law would’ve increased both annual fees as well as needed liability insurance (up to five million from two). Naturally, industry figures weren’t in favour of those extra costs. The Company House, for example, would see its fees for a small 12-person patio jump from $300 to $800 a year under the new plan. Most councillors agreed the fees structure needed to be looked at further, but it’s worth keeping in mind that no one is being forced to open their patios all year long.

“If a business wants to utilize our infrastructure, so be it,” said Steve Craig. “There’s a cost to doing that.”

An amendment to the insurance jump, put forth by councillor Reg Rankin, easily passed. So businesses will only need three million dollars in liability coverage. Though, as some pointed out, insurance companies offer two and five million ranges on their own, which means three million will default to five million. But it sounds nicer, in theory.

Less of a concern for council was the environmental impact of cold, wintery patios using obnoxious space heaters in the open air. Councillor David Hendsbee brought up the heaters, but only to pay passing mention the the pleasing ambiance they supposedly offer. Councillor Waye Mason took time to mention that these “yearlong” licenses are mainly so that restaurants don’t have to remove and then reconstruct their patios every year. That’s likely true, but once they’ve got the license there’ll be nothing to stop anyone from lighting up a few space heaters and keeping the sidewalk cafe party going all winter long.

By-law S-1000 passed its first reading. A public hearing will be held on October 21 and staff will be preparing a report on a new tiered-fee structure for restaurants.

MORE GARBAGE

As is the polite thing to do, Halifax will tell the province we support their 300 kg per person per year target for solid waste reduction. Now, yes, we’re well above meeting those targets (with a staff report noting HRM would need to divert 65 percent of the 60,000 tonnes currently delivered to landfills to meet the goal), but that’s no reason to admit the truth and be rude. The city is, after all, “contemplating” an additional three employees to try and achieve that cap within 10 years.

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Council also opted out of the Earth Hour challenge for next year. We’ll still be turning out the lights, “where operationally possible,” but the city won’t be spending time and money on the competitive part of the challenge. That’s where cities across the globe create programs, share data and perform complicated dance routines for the chance at a recording contract. The program would just eat up too much of staff’s time, plus cost the city some $25,000. Oh, and also we haven’t updated our corporate greenhouse gas inventory since 2008. So, that plan’s out.

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A late entry for surprising-amount-of-debate was this Dalhousie pilot project for a protected bike lane on University Avenue. Gloria McCluskey worried about the loss of metred and accessible parking, though both aren’t being lost, just moved nearby. Councillor Outhit also pondered why council was debating an issue that had already been announced by the province. “It’s a good thing we do like it,” he offered. The two-year project will assess the impact/use of the bike lane on that busy section of Dal’s campus.

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September 22 through to the 28 is “Right to Know” week in the HRM, where the city recommits itself to being open and accountable with granting citizens access to information. I’ll let you know how that goes.

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Grade: C—

This article appears in Sep 18-24, 2014.