Talking trash is never easy

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/02/2010 (5959 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

NOTHING stirs up neighbourhood passions like a good debate over garbage collection. The stuff we throw out, how much and in what container, not to mention how often it’s picked up, often stirs more hostility and anger than issues of war and peace.

The recent rollout of automated carts in northwest Winnipeg received mixed reviews from homeowners, who disagreed about whether the new system was too difficult and unreliable, or a model of convenience and orderliness.

Under the new system, the city will only empty the one container, which means families that generate too much garbage have to squeeze it in the following week. But what about yard waste and the dozens of bags of leaves, grass and branches that some homeowners produce in the spring and fall?

The question never really came up, but on Friday the city set off another garbage kerfuffle with a proposal to restrict the collection of yard waste to two pickups in the spring and two in the fall, and zero in between. You’re on your own with tree branches. That got some people complaining about having to store bags of summer grass in their garages — imagine the stink, some said — while others called for the return of the old ways of doing business.

The city’s proposal, however, is fair and reasonable. Two free pickup periods in the spring and two in the fall are enough to handle all the yard waste that can conceivably be generated by a homeowner in Winnipeg. Thereafter, people can compost their grass, haul it away, mulch their grass, or even raise their mower blades and leave the clippings on the lawn. For those who don’t generate too much garbage — and the large containers should easily handle the detritus of most families — there is always the option of dropping a bag or two of grass (along with the dead branches) into the bin.

If the recommendation is adopted, the city would contract out the collection of yard waste and seek a private company to build and operate a yard-waste composting facility.

The city is also proposing to replace the blue-box program citywide with automated carts that would be the same size as those used for garbage collection. It’s a lot of change and it’s not without its challenges, but it offers the benefit of controlling the cost of collection, while giving everyone an increased opportunity to recycle.

The system works in other cities, including those with snow, and most Winnipeggers should embrace it, once they get over the grumbling.