The current garbage regulations can be found here and state that the limit is two 75 liter containers

So let me get this straight – despite the talk of the zero waste challenge, the talk of a neighourhood zero waste pilot program (Councilor Laurie Williams), and the fact that the garbage that we generate is trucked (trucked 337 kilometers and up 400 meters of elevation) up to a nearly full landfill in Cache Creek, the city is increasing the amount of garbage we can generate?

And if you opt for a smaller bin, you’ll pay the same as a resident who opts for the largest bin?

The city survey had a section on user-pay to determine tax rates – here’s a perfect one that is a win-win-win – the environment, the city, and potentially our taxes.

I recognize that altering a families property tax based on the size of their garbage can isn’t easy or practical, but a potential solution might be garbage stickers (like we currently have if you need to put out more than two cans).A family could get 30 in a given year, and then purchase more at $10 per can.

The benefits would be,

1) Cans would only go out when full, and this would make garbage collection more efficient

2) Residents would be more mindful of their garbage, and pay more attention to recycling – how many recycle soft plastics @ the recycling depot? It moves us to a user-pay, where it’s a universal benefit if less garbage is generated.

3) The city would either save money, or generate more revenue. The city could then make the green-waste collection year round (it ended back on Sept 19th) or add a composting option to further reduce garbage, assuming that these are not being implemented with this new pickup service.