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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Smith blames bin woes on Katz
'It's the mayor's policy that set this up'
All they need is a few people emptying chamber pots and Winnipeg's back lanes will resemble 16th Century England, says Coun. Harvey Smith (Daniel McIntyre).
Smith toured the Wolseley area Saturday and said the overflow of garbage in autobins there rivals the situation in the North End. Residents in both parts of the city have mountains of rubbish heaped atop their bins.
"When it's hot, people can't be out in the yard because of the smell from the bins," Smith said.
The city is in the process of replacing autobins with carts for an automated garbage-pickup service. However, the transition has run into delays. In Wolseley, the autobins haven't been emptied in three weeks.
Meanwhile, automated pickup service of new garbage carts is in disarray. In St. James, about 200 homes didn't have their carts picked up on time last week. In West Kildonan, homes that were supposed to have garbage picked up Aug. 1 still had their garbage and recycling bins full as of Saturday night. "I don't know what's going on," said one resident, Sonja Musto.
The city has said part of the delay is due to garbage trucks being old and breaking down. It is taking up to three days for trucks to complete one day's collection of the autobins.
Smith doesn't buy it. He believes there may be a dispute between the city's administration and the private contractor who handles the pickup, BFI, that the city isn't talking about.
Smith blamed the problems on the city's privatization of garbage pickup. Winnipeggers have Mayor Sam Katz to thank for that, he said. "It's the mayor's policy that set this up."
The city now says it should be finished clearing the autobins in Wolseley by Monday night.
In the North End, people have accused contractors of dumping materials into the autobins before the city removes them for good. But that isn't the case in Wolseley, Smith said.
There are also still new garbage carts waiting to be picked up in St. James. On Collegiate Street, some people had garbage picked up, and some didn't, said resident Jeff Regan. His garbage was still sitting outside Saturday night.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition August 5, 2012 A3
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