Bi-weekly garbage pick-up could begin next spring
The City of Ottawa wants to move ahead with bi-weekly garbage pick-up starting next June even though more than half of residents recently polled on the issue don't like the plan.
The proposal calls for garbage to be picked up once every two weeks; green bins would be picked up every week.
The city says residents will be allowed to put out six bags of garbage every second week. A current city bylaw actually limits each household to three bags of garbage per week, but it rarely gets enforced.
The city also plans to introduce a dirty diaper service for families with babies and seniors. That service would operate on the week that garbage isn't picked up, and people would have to sign up for it.
There will be no change to the blue and black box recycling schedule.
City staff says switching to bi-weekly garbage service will save more than $54 million between now and 2018. The savings could reduce property taxes by about 10 per cent.
However, a recent Nanos poll conducted for the city showed only 22 per cent of people like the idea of bi-weekly garbage pick-up. More than half disagree with changing the way garbage is collected.
Bi-weekly garbage pick-up will translate to about 20 fewer garbage trucks on the road each day. The plan is also expected to extend the life of the Trail Road Landfill by two years.
Public meetings on the switch to bi-weekly pick-up are being held next Tuesday and Wednesday. The first is at Ottawa City Hall between 4:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.
http://ottawa.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110330/OTT_Garbage_110330/20110330/?hub=OttawaHome
The City of Ottawa wants to move ahead with bi-weekly garbage pick-up starting next June even though more than half of residents recently polled on the issue don't like the plan.
The proposal calls for garbage to be picked up once every two weeks; green bins would be picked up every week.
The city says residents will be allowed to put out six bags of garbage every second week. A current city bylaw actually limits each household to three bags of garbage per week, but it rarely gets enforced.
The city also plans to introduce a dirty diaper service for families with babies and seniors. That service would operate on the week that garbage isn't picked up, and people would have to sign up for it.
There will be no change to the blue and black box recycling schedule.
City staff says switching to bi-weekly garbage service will save more than $54 million between now and 2018. The savings could reduce property taxes by about 10 per cent.
However, a recent Nanos poll conducted for the city showed only 22 per cent of people like the idea of bi-weekly garbage pick-up. More than half disagree with changing the way garbage is collected.
Bi-weekly garbage pick-up will translate to about 20 fewer garbage trucks on the road each day. The plan is also expected to extend the life of the Trail Road Landfill by two years.
Public meetings on the switch to bi-weekly pick-up are being held next Tuesday and Wednesday. The first is at Ottawa City Hall between 4:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.
http://ottawa.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110330/OTT_Garbage_110330/20110330/?hub=OttawaHome
