program encourages people to increase waste and not take responsibility for diverting that waste (via charities, or re-use options).
As Ontario attempts to move towards attaining 60% waste diversion, the concept of generator responsibility is being embraced by many municipalities and is the cornerstone of the extended producer responsibility model being proposed in the Ontario Legislature.
Currently, residents with large items have the following options for disposal:
- 1. Bring the item(s) to a re-use center such as Goodwill, St. Vincent de Paul, The Furniture Bank and various others. Some of these organizations offer a limited curb side collection as well, at no charge;
- 2. Sell the item(s) in a garage sale or on websites such as Kijiji;
- 3. Bring the item(s) to the Public Drop Off Depot, open 6 days a week; a minor tipping fee would apply. Currently if the item is under 100kg (200lbs) the charge would be $5.00 for 4 such visits a year;
- 4. Hire a private hauler to remove the items.
Unfortunately, some residents chose to dump their items illegally.
The following is a series of options available to Council should there be a desire to provide a different level of service for bulk collection.
Option 1 – Curbside collection; in-house services
This option would see a curbside collection service for large bulk items (excluding metal, appliances, construction materials and household chemical waste) on a monthly basis by CUPE Local 82 forces. Residents would register for the service as needed and would be limited to two (2) items per collection. A limit on the number of items set out for collection is required to ensure the collection schedule is maintained. The service would be available between the months of April to November, on a monthly basis, for each collection zone. In the winter months, staff would be used to enhance winter control operations and/or illegal dump site clean ups as well as to conduct waste audits on city facilities.
The main advantage of this option is that service levels and schedules can be adjusted as needed without the risk of additional costs. Bulk collection will be, for all intents and purposes, a new program for Environmental Services. It will therefore likely require adjustments to obtain the most effective program. CUPE Local 82 forces can provide that flexibility and offer enhancement to other areas that may be in need.