Garbage bag tag system prompting backlash, say councillors

City of Ottawa staff say having people pay if they put out more than 55 garbage bags or bins a year will help push late-adopters to use their green bins and add years to the life of the Trail Road landfill.

Councillors will debate the proposed program Monday at what's likely to be a lengthy meeting of the environment and climate change committee.

"Of course, it's not going to be the most popular thing in the world," said Coun. Shawn Menard, who chairs the committee. "This is a change and nobody loves a change such as this."

But he said there are plenty of reasons to support it: "We have a landfill that is filling up rapidly, our diversion rates are very low and it will cost us a significant amount of money more if we don't make this change."

Under the proposal, residents will get enough tags over the course of the year to put about two out on the curb each garbage day. Once they're gone, additional tags will cost $3 each.

While staff call that an incentive for change, some councillors say it's inequitable and places an extra burden on large families.

WATCH | 'Pay as you throw' could be coming to Ottawa

The program would begin next spring. Enforcement would gradually ramp up, starting with a written notice to anyone not following the rules and ending with tagless garbage being left at the curb.

Staff predict it would prompt people to toss out up to 19 per cent less trash.

Garbage collection may feel like a free service, but residents pay for it annually through a solid waste user fee. City staff say the new system will be treated as a utility like water or gas, with some households paying more based on their usage.

"I agree a pay-per-use system would be fair, if we weren't already paying for the service on our property tax bill," said Rideau-Jock Coun. David Brown, whose ward houses the landfill.

"When you institute a bag tag program, you're punishing larger families," he added. "You're punishing rural residents in particular and, certainly, many families in the suburbs."

West Carleton-March Coun. Clarke Kelly said he's already received over 100 comments from constituents in his mostly rural ward, all of them negative.

"I can assure you that not a single e-mail or call that my office has received has been in support of the proposed tag program," said Kelly. "We should take a more equitable approach."

He says families like his own, with young children, can't be expected to produce the same amount of trash as a single person.

For the program to meet its goals, a staff report said the item limit should be set at or below the amount of trash currently being put out by the average household.

Roughly three-quarters of households are now putting out two items or less biweekly, the report said.

But many are still tossing out stuff that could go in the black, blue or green bins. Right now, the average trash bag is 42 per cent trash, 13 per cent recyclables and a whopping 45 per cent organic materials.

"The basic fact of the matter is the city is behind when it comes to diversion," Menard said. "Not just [behind] the provincial targets, but other cities that have implemented more stringent waste management practices."

Ottawa is one of the last major cities in Ontario to institute a "pay as you throw" system, with some 135 municipalities already having gone that route.

The Trail Road landfill is estimated to reach capacity by 2036 to 2038. Given it could take 15 years to build another landfill or introduce a different waste disposal technology, city staff are relying on a new curbside strategy to buy some time.

The city recognizes a pay-as-you-throw system comes with challenges and expects some residents to cry foul.

Data shows that, on average, rural households put out more garbage than those who live closer to downtown. Lower-income families also produce slightly more trash. Then there's concerns about excess trash created over the holidays and during a move.

Menard said he recognizes there are "legitimate" concerns the public will want to see addressed

"There's a number of motions that speak to ensuring lower-income families are accommodated, that the farming community is accommodated," he said.

The city is also looking to expand a program that allows people who need to dispose of diapers and incontinence products to register for special collection on garbage off-weeks. It would include non-hazardous medical waste like gloves, masks, catheters and IV bags.

Despite such efforts, the city is prepared for an uptick in illegal dumping, similar to what it saw when it moved to once-a-week pickup.

That's a "major concern," said Kelly, who grew up down the street from a popular dumping spot. But Menard said the experience of other municipalities suggests the effect would be temporary — and offset by the creation of two new full-time enforcement positions.

If the environment and climate change committee gives its stamp to the system Monday, full city council will vote on it on June 14.

But there were two other options reviewed by residents in a city-run focus group. One would see a strict two-bag limit, while the other would make it mandatory for residents to put their trash in clear bags and place a clear ban on throwing out organics.

"The clear bags would have been the best option for the most diversion that we could have achieved as a city," said Menard, who notes that these remain on the table.

But Kelly has yet to see anything he'd support.

"Both of those options are terrible," he said.

"I would hate to see a scenario where neighbours are pitted against each other, looking at each other's trash to make sure they're throwing out or recycling certain things."

On Monday morning, Mayor Mark Sutcliffe shared a blog post with a proposal that centres around not requiring tags for the first two containers or items of garbage.

Kelly and Brown both said the best move is to focus on other options to reduce trash, from exploring incineration to promoting disposal of organic waste use in multi-unit dwellings.

Right now, newly built apartments and condos must provide residents with access to green bins, said Menard, with plans underway to expand that to all multi-residence buildings.

Journalist

Elyse Skura is a reporter based in Ottawa. Since joining CBC News, she's worked in Iqaluit, Edmonton and Thunder Bay. Elyse spent four years reporting from Tokyo, where she also worked as a consulting producer for NHK World Japan. You can reach her at [email protected].