[getsmart-l] Toronto city committee proposal to charge by the bin

[John O'Gorman]

Now, how does this help those of us who could accumulate waste for two or even three cycles before having a full container? What will all of us do with the garbage cans that we already have? Which landfill will receive these? My neighbours have had the same two small metal garbage cans for 20 years - well worn but serviceable.

Paid stickers still seem to me to be the most logical answer!!!

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070523.GARBAGE23/TPStory/?query=waste
WASTE DISPOSAL

'Pay-as-you-throw' pegged at $62
Avid recyclers will benefit under city committee proposal to charge by the bin
JEFF GRAY 

May 23, 2007

A controversial "pay-as-you-throw" garbage user fee proposal, up before a key council committee next week, will cost the average Toronto household an extra $62 a year, city officials say - but ruthless recyclers who can keep their output to just one bag every two weeks won't see their costs rise as quickly.

Advocates say the new system will encourage recycling by hitting Torontonians in the wallet, but critics deride it as a tax increase with an overcomplicated bureaucratic tangle - and new compulsory uglygarbage bins - to go with it.

The plan, which would see households that produce more garbage pay a penalty, is among a list of proposed recycling measures aimed at meeting Mayor David Miller's goal of diverting 70 per cent of the city's waste from landfill, up from the current 42 per cent.

Under the garbage-fee proposal, all single-family households would have to choose one of four city-issued garbage bins, to range from 75 litres (about one garbage bag) to 360 litres in size. 

The new user fees would range from $209 a year for the smallest bin to $360 for the largest. (A separate fee structure would see apartment landlords also charged by volume for garbage collection.)

To partly offset the new fees, the $183.5-million garbage-collection budget would eventually be removed from the property tax bill, city officials say. But provincial legislation doesn't allow this kind of tax change, so until that detail is ironed out, the city plans to offer a rebate to homeowners for their share of the garbage bill, which in 2007 is $209.

This means homeowners who manage to use the smallest bin would see no net cost increase, at least initially, while others would pay up to $151 more. The garbage fees are slated to rise at least 3.5 per cent a year - higher than recent property-tax hikes - to offset "inflationary pressures and capital debt repayment costs," the report says.

The revenue from the new fees - about $54-million a year - would be used to fund other recycling initiatives, such as improved collection in apartment buildings, to help reach Mr. Miller's diversion goal.

"If you don't care about recycling, if you don't care about society, then you might care about your pocketbook," said Councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker (Ward 38, Scarborough Centre), the public works and infrastructure committee chairman and an advocate of the scheme.

Critics called the plan a smokescreen to raise taxes on homeowners, and warn it will be a headache to implement.

"Administratively, it's going to be a real mess," said Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong (Ward 34, Don Valley East). 

"What happens when [residents] order a larger bin but the wrong one gets delivered? Who's going to account for that?"

Mr. Minnan-Wong, looking at an array of waist-high sample bins in a city hall office yesterday, called them "clunky, big, unattractive space-filling things" and said the largest was unlikely to fit in anyone's garage.

Geoff Rathbone, Toronto's solid-waste policy director, said the private company that provides the bins would be responsible for doling out the initial 500,000, and any new ones required. He said a test in select neighbourhoods would determine if the size of the bins, similar to those used in several other big cities, posed a problem for Toronto.

Counterfeit or stolen bins would be thwarted, he said, by using serial numbers and possibly electronic tracking devices on the official bins.

*****

Cash for trash?

Torontonians may soon be paying to toss their trash, with fees set according to the size of city-issued garbage container. A plan to be debated at the mayor's executive committee sets prices based on four sizes, with homeowners receiving a rebate in the first year, 2007, of $209 -- equal to the cost of picking up the smallest container. Paper, plastic and organic recycling would remain unlimited and free of any extra charges.

Yearly cost by amount of garbage picked up every two weeks:
75 LITRES (About one large bag): $209
120 LITRES: $250
240 LITRES: $310
360 LITRES: $360
SOURCE: CITY OF TORONTO
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