[getsmart-l] Toronto is fixated on "hardware" and not "process"

[John O'Gorman]

First it was the carts for street food and now the garbage bins. 

Why don't they look at the process and do something with tags such that the tag/tab/medallion has to be pulled off the home owners container, accumulated by the waste personnel like TTC tickets and on the basis of the number of tags is what the waste collector will be paid. Good design and testing will prevent stolen tags but what it allows for is the most efficient/least cost/most versatile pickup, I think. 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080208.COUNCIL8/TPStory/?query=waste 
CITY FINANCES
Toronto considers $190 fee for tossing out trash
Pay-as-you-throw levy tied to volume
JENNIFER LEWINGTON February 8, 2008 Globe and Mail

CITY HALL BUREAU CHIEF

Households that put more trash at the curb will pay more - up to $190 a year - and those that put out a little less will get a small rebate under a new pay-as-you-throw garbage levy that kicks in this year.

The proposed changes, to be debated Monday by council's budget committee, stem from an earlier request to reward the most recycling-conscious households. 

If approved, a family that opts for an extra-large bin (the equivalent of 4½ garbage bags) would pay $190 annually. Families with the smallest bin (the equivalent of one bag) would get a $10 rebate.

But some critics contend that the higher garbage levy - on average the equivalent of a 4.4-per-cent property tax hike - comes as Toronto residents already face a 3.75-per-cent tax increase proposed for this year.

"It's a massive tax increase for families," says Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong (Ward 34, Don Valley East), adding that it will hit large families harder than two-person households.

But Mayor David Miller contends "people have a choice," since the city will offer an array of new, free services as part of an aggressive plan to divert 70 per cent of garbage from landfill by 2010.

Even if large families cannot use the smallest bin, says the mayor, the next size up would carry an annual fee of $39 - or less than $1 a week. Officials estimate 60 per cent of residents would pay this charge or none at all.

In the past, garbage collection was paid through local taxes, with no spur to recycle.

"This is a very significant change to our waste system," says Geoff Rathbone, the city's general manager of solid-waste-management services. "If we don't implement new programs, our landfill would be full by 2025." (Green Lane is slated to run until 2034).

Meanwhile, the city's plans to roll out larger - and free - recycling bins has hit a snag in cramped downtown neighbourhoods, where some residents say they have no room for the new containers.

City Councillor Pam McConnell (Ward 28, Toronto Centre-Rosedale), has faced a flurry of angry residents. She says she knew the new bins would be a problem in her ward, and moved an amendment to the plan to ensure that staff find alternatives when needed. 

Now, a special pilot project in her area is to begin in April to address residents' concerns. "Literally in this case, one size doesn't fit all," Ms. McConnell said.

Residents of Cabbagetown and other areas with Victorian-era architecture say their houses are too small, attached or too close together, to cope with the larger, wheeled recycling bins, with even the medium bin at least twice as large as the current blue bin. A large bin is more than four times as big, officials say.

Under the plan, brokered by a steering committee of local residents set up by Ms. McConnell's office, residents will be allowed to use just one bin both for their recycling and their garbage collection, alternating its contents each week, in an effort to cut down the number of large containers they will have to store.

Last month, starting in Scarborough and moving west, Toronto began the citywide rollout of the recycling bins. The garbage bin roll-out also will begin in Scarborough, starting in June, in preparation for a citywide start-up Nov. 1. 

The new pay-as-you-throw levy system will be in place for apartments and condos July 1.

The proposed fee or rebate would be part of a new utility bill for garbage and water, with any garbage rebate credited to a resident's water bill.

*****

The bigger, the costlier

The city's new pay-as-you-throw garbage levy, based on the size of the city-supplied container used, takes effect this year. The garbage fee, to be included in a new combined water/solid-waste bill, is to be debated Monday by the budget committee.

SIZE, VOLUME, ANNUAL FEE

Small: fits 1 bag, $10 rebate on water bill 
Medium: fits 1½ bags, $39
Large: fits 3 bags, $133
Extra large: fits 4½ bags, $190
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