City bylaws require that residents sort their recyclables from their trash, but so many people don’t separate that the city has spent $39.4 million separating it for them over the past five years, says a staff report to city council.
So staff wants to apply a bit more muscle: proposed new amendments to the bylaw would reduce the garbage bag limit from six to four, and the bags must be clear, with the exception of one solid colour “privacy bag.”
Limiting the number of trash bags would encourage people to think more about what’s trash and what’s recycling, instead of dumping both in garbage bags. If residents don’t sort properly, their bags will be stickered and left on the curb.
According to city councillor, Sue Uteck, having trash in a see-through bag has some people on edge. “Residents are calling me,” she says, “They don’t want their neighbours to know they wear depends.” For some people the dark bag would hide personal items, but Uteck explains that with this plan, “if you live in an apartment you won’t get a privacy bag.”
While some feel it is an invasion of privacy, others feel that the clear bag policy will work to reduce waste. City councilor Jennifer Watts, says she believes “there will be greater compliance.” Watts explains that the system isn’t changing; it is just adding a mechanism to enforce the bylaw. “The clear bag policy has made a difference,” says Watts, referring to other places that have already adapted the idea.
According to the staff report, clear bags have proven to work in increasing behavioural change. The idea that everyone can see the items being thrown out motivates people to improve source separation. The proposal also says, the bags will make the program safer for the service workers.
Other concerns are the additional costs.
Residents are responsible to sort their trash but if by chance their garbage is tagged unacceptable, they have to remove it before 24 hours is up. By-law officers can fine residents, who neglect to abide by this.
Council will discuss the proposal at Tuesday’s meeting.
This article appears in Mar 3-9, 2011.
Naturally, Jennifer Watts is pushing yet another eco-nazi measure on to the citizens of Halifax. It is past time for citizens to say “enough” to this nonsense that would set neighbor against neighbor and allow neighborhood snoops to see how you live your private life. It’s garbage, HRM. Pick it up and do your job.
It would be nice if the Coast could find a local picture to use on this article instead of a shot of another city during a garbage strike, too.
HRM staff are not telling council or residents the truth. HRM wants to take more commercial waste which brings in money from a tipping fee. HRM went to court to stop commercial waste haulers taking waste out of HRM to a site where lower fees were charged. This is about getting more commercial waste and extending the lifespan of each cell at the landfill.
The new CAO is an ex-garbage man with Laidlaw; council should wait to hear his views.
As long as he doesn’t spout trhe nnonsense some woman put forth at CBC phone in at lunchtime. She came up with Toronto as an example of how things should be done. Moron.
And “Dartmouth don’t need no bus terminal” Watts will lead us into the future!
They carelessly approve a disastrous project like the convention center but spend years debating cats, chickens, re-naming HRM and now garbage bags.
When will Halifax recycle plastics other than #2 and #1? How will the “garbage police” know when your bag contains plastics #5 which are not recyclable here as opposed to plastics #1 or 2? Will the simply tag each bag because it contains plastics?
boy – #3 plastic will soon be available for re-cycling according to Streatch on CBC on Monday.
Who the fuck does Watts think she is, to mandate a change in my behavior?? lol
Good luck on that one. I will still put my garbage out to the curb, in black bags, and if the city doesn’t take it, there is gonna be one mother of a mountain of trash on the street that I am not taking back.
Check out Toronto’s garbage rules…
Despite having to deal with the garbage strike two years ago the garbage system is relatively easy and makes sense. I am from Nova Scotia and have lived in Toronto for two years now and despite whatever bias you may think I have I am definitely pro Toronto garbage system. The city “rents” a garbage bin and recycling bin along with free green bins to each home owner and the owner pays based on the size of the bins that they would like. So, if you have more garbage or more tennants in the property you pay more for your bigger bins. If you are good at managing your garbage, recycling and composting you can use a smaller bin (which also conceals your garbage in it’s bags- no need for clear vs black bags…it is whatever fits in the bin) and save some money. Since garbage and recycling are picked up on alternating weeks and green bin is picked up every week, consumers realize the value of using the green bin so that your garbage and recycling bins dont fill up and you will be forced to buy bag tags from your local hardware store for any additional garbage bags. If you do end up with more recycling than fits in the bin (ie. you spent a day at ikea and have lots of boxes to get rid of) then you can tie up the cardboard in 2X2 foot bundles or use blue bags and you will not be charged for the excess (provided you are not lazy and try to just put the full boxes on the curb and hope they will take them (experiential statment).
Moral of the story- there is no fighting over which color bags to use, concern over private vs not private bag types or allowance and people are forced to pay for the garbage that they create. People do not want to spend money on garbage therefore they will reduce their production of garbage in an attempt to reduce cost. I’ve never had to pay for extra garbage and I’ve also never had to deal with bag color arguments. It’s a lesson in garbage from a different city. ps. The bins protect the bags from animals, crows, etc. so it also reduces garbage and recycling from being strewn across the street.
“This is about getting more commercial waste and extending the lifespan of each cell at the landfill.” And this is a bad thing? We complain that HRM isn’t prudent with money and then complain when they try to make more of it. Which is it?
As for concerns from apartment dwellers: you put your waste in a common area with other garbage. The bags aren’t associated with a unit. Where’s the privacy concern?
hipp5 – HRM wants to extend the life of each cell. I am OK with that.
HRM does not want commercial waste collectors to take waste to landfills outside of HRM and has used the courts to uphol; the HRM requirement to dispose of waste at Otter Lake.
If HRM wants each cell to last longer then it seems to me it would be OK to let commercial haulers take the waste outside HRM and forgo the revenue.
Or build a modern incinerator and sell the power to NSP at feed in tariffs the windmills enjoy and have a very small landfill.
I sort. And I don’t care what colour bags I have to use. if it helps HRM do their job better and divert more waste from landfills by me using clear bags, I’ll use clear bags. Seriously folks, pull your heads out of your collective asses – it’s not a big deal to sort your fucking garbage. Takes me all of 10mins/week.
And private life? Are all of you so completely paranoid that you’re worried that folks can tell you’re using depends? Gah… I think it’s a nice concession that they’re giving you one black bag/pick up. How much shit do you need to keep secret?!
It would be nice, if HRM cared so much about waste management, that hey try doing what they continue to demand from residents. How about a garbage can or two around the city???Would it kill them to actually oput out an acceptable number of bins for people to toss their recyclable bottles in?? They are all about we have to do their job for them. This city is a DUMP and its embarassing when you have to walk 15 blocks all the way home because your city doesn’t care if you have a place to toss your bottles/garbage/compost. Hate them. The entire city is not Spring garden Road
Good luck getting me to use a green bin or compost in my apartment. Not happening.
Ridiculous over-legislation. The houses that do not put green bins to the curb probably don’t sort their waste. The houses with messy racoon and shit hawk torn up bags probably don’t sort their waste. Eureka! Deliver the aforementioned the appropriate citation and let’s carry on because the last thing I want to see on Thursday morning before work is my stuck-up neighbour, crouched, happily eye-fucking my trash while dialling the garbage inspector to report traces of banana peeling. Fuck off. And the lady with the diapers had a good point too.
I heard all plastics ‘cept #6 is going to be recyclable soon in HRM. That’s 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, & 7.
All 6 except 6.
I usually only have 1 bag of garbage and it’s in a plastic can. Makes no diff to Smee.
Put all your plastic in the blue bag regardless of number. They will take it.
Kicked down the road for at least 3 months until the new garbage man, sorry new CAO, arrives.
He only had 4 years experience as one of 3 deputies in Toronto. I bet he could tell a few tales of Miller time.
I for one am getting sick & fucking tired of this B U L L S H I T !
I pay for you to remove my garbage…it doesn’t cost you fuck all.
I ,along with EVERYONE ELSE, fucking PAYS FOR IT.
I have a friend who worked at the Bayer Lake facility, & he told me about when you couldn’t move cardboard to recyclers because there was so much on hand a couple of years back…at night….it went in to the fuckin landfill.
Which is what they do whenever they run out of room with recyclables.
You bureacratic asskissers & the bureacrats can make any changes you like…just stop fucking taxing me to remove my garbage & go to a user system where you pay by what you throw out, per bag or bin. I will then burn every fucking thing I can, & the empty cans…I’ll take to a scrap metal dealer when I’ve filled a couple of plastic garbage bins with crushed cans !
I won’t have to worry about a green bin pick up ( I don’t even have one) because I have been composting for close to 25 years now, & have a wonderful garden because of it .
I would love to be taxed less & I got no problem putting pollution into the air, after all if NS power can pour millions of tons of it a year into the air from just the Dartmouth Power plant, how much can my 2 woodstoves produce ????
Oh great! leftie housewife Watts together with a new CAO who is a City of Toronto 3rd string bureacrat and ex David Miller leftie lapdog. Aren’t we are making great progress.
Just use the Jumbo bags, you can fit at least 2 regular sized garbags full of crap into one Jumbo bag.
Why do people have so much trash? We’ve had 1 1/2 bags this morning since our last collection two weeks ago.
If this about misdirected trash, why the reduction in the bag limit? Sounds to me this is more about deficit reduction than trash reduction. Otherwise wouldn’t the recuction of misdirected trash make the bag recuction redundant? Just asking.