Rival firms trash garbage plan

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This article was published 10/03/2010 (5962 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Small companies that haul garbage and the owners of two private landfills don’t like the smell of a city plan to offer one company a discount in exchange for dumping more waste at a publicly owned landfill.

In the latest garbage controversy to beset city hall, lawyers representing six waste haulers converged on council’s public works committee Tuesday to argue the pros and cons of a plan to entice Johnson Waste Management to divert more of its trash to the city-owned Brady Road Landfill.

Winnipeg’s water and waste department wants to cut a deal with Johnson that would effectively cut Brady Road’s tipping fees to $20 a tonne from $33.50, provided the company sends more waste to the city-owned landfill.

Solid waste managers expect the deal to generate an additional $240,000 every year in Brady Road income. But other players in the garbage business claim it offers Johnson a competitive edge — and makes it easier for Winnipeg businesses to send trash to the landfill instead of recycling.

"If a big player is given a price break, they have an unfair advantage," said Barry Gorlick, a lawyer representing small waste haulers Omar Container Service, Simpson’s Transfer, Klippenstein Hauling and Bristal Hauling.

The small haulers, along with two private landfills that compete with Brady Road, say the city proposal would distort the local garbage market and discourage recycling.

BFI Canada, which operates a landfill in the RM of Rosser, argued through lawyer Paul Edwards that the proposal is "anti-recycling and anti-small business."

Cutting tipping fees only one year after Manitoba placed a $10-a-tonne levy on landfill dumping defeats the purpose of the new provincial environmental policy, added John McCabe, president of Mid-Canada Environmental Services, which operates a landfill in the RM of Ritchot.

"If you lower the fee down to $20, what message does that send?" McCabe asked.

Johnson Waste Management, however, maintains it’s merely trying to compete with BFI, noting its larger competitor has an advantage in Winnipeg because it owns its own landfill and has a waste-swapping deal with Brady Road.

"You can imagine how much it pains Johnson to take waste to BFI’s landfill, but it does, because it makes economic sense," argued Robin Kersey, a lawyer representing Johnson Waste Management.

If the city does not proceed with its proposal, more of Johnson’s garbage would wind up in other landfills, not recycling depots, Kersey added. "There is no risk to the city in accepting this proposal," he said.

City officials, however, suggested there may be some risk. If Brady Road cuts the tipping fees for Johnson, there is no guarantee that rival company National Waste Management won’t take its business to other landfills — or that BFI or Mid-Canada won’t cut their own rates, water and waste officials told the public works committee.

Couns. Bill Clement (Charleswood), Harry Lazarenko (Mynarski) and Gord Steeves (St. Vital), sitting in for two absent committee members, expressed little enthusiasm for the proposal. "There seems to be a lot of risk without a lot of upside," said Steeves, adding he was uncomfortable with any move to make it easier to dump garbage in a city with a poor waste-diversion rate.

But since solid waste managers have already spent four months consulting with the various players, the councillors voted in favour of the proposal to allow executive policy committee to debate it on March 17.

It would be hypocritical for EPC to approve the plan, argued Transcona Coun. Russ Wyatt.

"This seems to contradict everything we want to accomplish in this city with respect to waste minimization," said Wyatt, referring to a February council vote to develop a comprehensive waste-reduction strategy for Winnipeg.

bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca