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Clear Bag garbage program heads to committee for further debate

January 29, 2014   ·   1 Comments

By Brock Weir

Aurora residents will have a few more weeks to wait before finding out if clear garbage bags are the way of the future.

Councillors sent back the proposal to require all homeowners to dispose of their garbage curbside in clear garbage bags, rather than standard black and green bags, as early as January 1, 2015. It is part of an effort to make the sorting of garbage easier in making sure it gets into the right channels for proper disposal.

Councillors voted last week to send the proposed program back to Aurora’s Economic Advisory Committee for a further look following a presentation by Dave Douglas, whose company, Vision Quest, has implemented similar programs in communities throughout Canada, most notably Markham.

“Today, over 400,000 Canadian households participate in similar programs with proven results of sustainability, an increase in the diversion of waste through increased curbside recycling and source separated organics,” he said.

Mr. Douglas presented five of what he viewed as the most “frequently asked questions” related to the clear bag program, many of which have cropped up at the Council table since the program was first proposed though a motion by Mayor Geoffrey Dawe in November.

The first was the availability of clear garbage bags to consumers. This is of paramount importance, said Mr. Douglas, and generally six months is enough lead time to get local retailers on board. An additional factor was the lead time to make sure homeowners and businesses are also on board, and being able to handle an expected surge in demand for blue boxes and green bins for recyclables and compostable material. Other concerns included enforcement and privacy.

“Although the social marketing of neighbours following neighbours by placing clear bags curbside will provide a very high level of influence towards participation, a town bylaw requiring the utilization of clear bags will provide the regulatory enforcement tool, if required,” he said.

“The inclusion of a privacy bag component, specifically a smaller opaque bag placed inside the clear bag offers the opportunity to dispose of some items with discretion. I think it is extremely important to keep in mind that a transition to a clear bag program for garbage is a change in the status quo and, right or wrong, change always comes with some levels of resistance, however small it might be. Based on my experiences across Canada, these programs always succeed in the end.”

While Mr. Douglas provided answers to his top five FAQ, Councillors came into the meeting armed with a few of their own, particularly in regards to privacy. Councillor Michael Thompson, for instance, said that was his top concern and asked Mr. Douglas to elaborate on how other municipalities tackled that issue.

A solution, he said, would be that one standard-size privacy bag on the curb with all the remaining bags being part of the clear program. The preferred option of municipal staff, however, was all other bags being opaque – such as standard grocery bags – all held within a larger clear bag.
Despite the opportunity to have their questions answered, some Councillors were still unconvinced and decided to seek input from the advisory committee.

“If we are going to charge [Green for Life] with scrutinizing this, they are already slow enough as it is and I have a real big issue with that,” said Councillor John Abel.

Added Councillor Thompson: “[The presentation] raised the question for me of who is picking up the garbage if it gets left over [in a non-clear bag]? It raised more questions than answers and there is no opportunity to explore it in-depth so we can have an informed opinion tonight.”

         

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Readers Comments (1)

  1. Barry Hall says:

    I have a few questions of my own.

    What, if any, costs or savings to the taxpayer will there be if we implement the clear bag program?

    For example, will there be additional collection costs charged by GFL in return for ‘inspecting’ our garbage?
    Inspecting garbage means collection will take longer.
    It makes sense that GFL will want to be compensated.
    Who will decide what constitutes a ‘sufficient’ inspection?
    How will that be policed?

    How far, exactly, is Aurora prepared to go with enforcement?
    As pointed out, recycling “deniers” will still have the ability to hide items within the clear bag.
    How will we be able to confirm that clear bags have improved recycling habits, or not?

    On a windy collection day my neighbourhood is littered with blue box items that will never get to the recycling depot.
    What has Aurora council done to help keep Aurora clean and push York Region to allow the use of blue recycling bags?

    Is council satisfied that the “need” for clear bags has been established?

    Is the Region suffering from a shortage of recyclables?

    For example, according to the York Region Waste report a third, about 30000 tons, of collected organic waste ended up going to the incinerator anyway.
    (Most of York Region’s garbage and unused recyclables are burned in a Waste to Energy Facility either in Brampton or New York state until the Durham facility opens).
    Do we really need to worry about increasing our diversion rate when we can’t process what we already collect?

    And how do we know how much recyclable material is being disposed of in green bags?
    Is someone already inspecting Aurora’s garbage or are we just assuming so?

    Environmentally-friendly initiatives are great, when they make sense.

    It makes no sense to switch to clear bags simply because other cities have, or that it ‘sounds like a good idea’.
    We should recall that corn-based ethanol fuel was thought by many to be an environmental ‘win’ until it turned out it really wasn’t.

    Hopefully council will gather the facts and make a decision based solely on what makes sense for the taxpayers of Aurora.


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