Rolling blue boxes next target for city hall

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This article was published 08/10/2009 (5881 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg wants to follow up its new rolling garbage bins with rolling blue boxes for recyclables – but only after going out and talking to homeowners who’ll be affected by the changes.

On Wednesday, city council voted 9-6 to approve a plan to replace garbage cans in northwest Winnipeg with rolling bins that can be emptied by automated trucks. The vote awarded BFI Canada a $13.3-million contract to use the new trucks to collect bins from 42,500 households north of the Assiniboine River and west of the Red River beginning Feb. 1.

The vote was delayed one week after opposition councillors used procedure to prevent the garbage plan from moving forward to council on short notice. Most of the NDP-affiliated councillors were upset with what they called a lack of public consultation about the plan, which was first made public on Sept. 23.

After two weeks of public furor, Winnipeg’s water and waste department is now expected to present city councillors with a long-term strategy on waste collection that will include garbage, recycling and possibly even composting.

A report that could be published as soon as Friday is expected to call for public consultation before any other waste-collection contract moves into a competitive bid process.

"I think that’s a real positive sign, and that’s great," said River Heights Coun. John Orlikow, who was a vocal critic of the way city hall rolled out the rolling garbage-bin plan. He voted against the BFI contract Wednesday, but is pleased to hear Winnipeg’s public service has already responded to council concerns.

"That’s what a healthy debate is for," Orlikow said.

Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz also pledged the city will use a different process to unveil future waste-collection changes, which will include a new residential-home recycling contract to replace an existing contract set to expire in September 2010.

Pending council approval and public consultation, recycling tenders for rolling blue boxes could go out in four to six weeks, said Darryl Drohomerski, Winnipeg’s sold-waste manager.

The city is also still studying ways to collect kitchen scraps and yard waste, he added.

"Anecdotally, everybody on council wants to do organics. The trouble is funding," said Drohomerski, adding his division is heartened that what started out as a divisive garbage debate now has politicians and the public talking about ways to reduce waste.

"We think that’s great. Our business is dealing with people’s byproducts, so the fact everyone’s looking at this objectively now, in the same direction, is great."

Winnipeg still has some work cut out to sell the public on the benefits of its new rolling garbage bins, which will require people with large yards to either reduce the amount of leaves and grass they discard, start composting at home or take their yard compost elsewhere.

The city already runs leaf depots in autumn.

The 240-litre rolling bins coming to northwest Winnipeg in February will store the equivalent of three garbage cans worth of waste, which is more capacity than many households require – but not enough for "people who make their yards look like velvet by throwing out six bags of yard waste every week," Drohomerski said.

"Those are the people we’ll have to communicate with in depth," he said.

Brandon has fielded few complaints about rolling bins since they were introduced in the western Manitoba city last year, Mayor Dave Burgess said.

The bins proved easy to move through snow last winter and are popular with most residents, he said, adding they are only a problem at multi-family residences that don’t have enough space for multiple bins.

Winnipeg has no plans to place individual rolling bins at apartments and condominiums, which are served by collective-use autobins.

bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca