Councillors vote for city staff to handle organic waste collection

City employees are expected to collect the waste when Winnipeg’s curbside compost program begins in 2030.

On Thursday, city council cast a nine to seven vote to have organic waste picked up by “in-house” staff.

The successful addition to the next round of waste collection contracts was raised by Coun. Brian Mayes, who has long pushed for some public waste collection.

Currently, the entire service is contracted out to private companies.

Mayes (St. Vital), said he believes a mixed private-public model will allow the city to compete with the private sector, which he expects would help control the cost and quality of the service.

“(Then) the private sector can’t gouge us, for lack of a better term, by colluding (on pricing) because we have some in-house capability,” he said.

The councillor said a mixed model works well in Ottawa.

City council has debated the idea of public waste collection multiple times over the past decade.

About five years ago, the city paid an undisclosed settlement to its largest union, the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 500, after the municipal government cancelled a pilot project to have civic employees collect waste at multi-family buildings.

In 2023, Mayes championed another pilot project in which the city would switch to public garbage and recycling collection for one downtown area. Council ultimately rejected that idea as well.

“I think everyone who voted for (the motion Thursday) was a little bit stunned it passed … because we had a version of this vote so many times,” said Mayes.

While the councillor stressed he’s optimistic the latest plan will come to fruition, he noted the municipal election is set for October, so the plan could still change.

Coun. Ross Eadie, chairman of the water and waste committee, also supported the motion.

“(With civic staff we would) have direct control over the service,” said Eadie (Mynarski).

However, Mayor Scott Gillingham and several executive policy committee members voted against the change.

Gillingham’s office said the mayor was not available for an interview Friday.

In the past, opponents of adding public collection argued the option would cost millions of dollars more than the private alternative. Some city reports have backed up that assumption.

Mayes said the price of private delivery has increased 50 per cent over the past decade, so the city shouldn’t assume contracting out is still cheaper.

City council also approved a $19.7-million contract for Municipal Waste Management Ltd. and a $17.4-million for GFL Environmental to collect garbage and recycling from Feb. 1, 2027, to Jan. 31, 2032.

Another final vote approved a neighbourhood infill benefits reserve, which will collect 80 per cent of the property tax revenue generated from many new housing projects with two, three or four units, for five years. The money would be used to support parks and recreation in communities where the small infill projects are built.

Council also approved a $5-million housing accelerator fund grant to support the $48-million redevelopment of the Marlborough Hotel and gave a green light to the secondary plan for Point Douglas. That plan aims to revitalize the area and attract thousands of new housing units over the next 25 years.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

X: @joyanne_pursaga