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TO: |
Mayor and Members of Council |
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FROM: |
Peter Loukes, P.Eng. Director,
Construction and Utilities |
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PREPARED BY: |
Peter Veiga, Supervisor, Waste
Management Operations |
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DATE OF MEETING: |
2005-March-21 |
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SUBJECT: |
Amendment to By-Law 32-95 to
Remove Plastic Bags as Approved Containers for Residential Leaf and Yardwaste
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RECOMMENDATION:
THAT the Report entitled “Amendment to By-Law 32-95 to Remove Plastic Bags as Approved
Containers for Residential Leaf and Yardwaste” be received;
AND THAT By-law 32-95, as amended, be further amended as follows:
By removing Section II, Subsection
4(e) and replacing it with the following:
4. (e) yard materials
shall be placed out, unmixed with any other refuse, only in kraft paper bags
specifically designed for the curbside collection of yard materials or
reusable, rigid, tapered containers such as bushel baskets and refuse
containers. Twigs and branches shall be
less than 15cm (6 inches) in diameter and tied using a non-ferrous material in
bundles no longer than 1.2m (4 feet) in length;
AND THAT the current
residential leaf and yard material collection schedule remain every other week
from April to November in 2005;
AND THAT staff monitor leaf and
yard material collection operations in 2005;
AND THAT the Region
of York be requested to provide a temporary “plastic
bag amnesty” in the month of October 2005 when plastic bags could be used for
the collection or residential leaf and yard material.
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this report is to amend Waste
Management By-Law 32-95 to remove plastic bags as
approved containers for residential leaf and yard material and to
outline the proposed communication and enforcement plan.
BACKGROUND:
At is
meeting of
Staff recommend that By-law 32-95 be further amended as follows:
Remove Section II, Subsection 4(e)
and replace it with the following:
4. (e) yard materials
shall be placed out, unmixed with any other refuse, only in kraft paper bags
specifically designed for the curbside collection of yard materials or
reusable, rigid, tapered containers such as bushel baskets and refuse
containers. Twigs and branches shall be
less than 15cm (6 inches) in diameter and tied using a non-ferrous material in
bundles no longer than 1.2m (4 feet) in length;
The Town’s collection contractor, Miller Waste, has reviewed the proposed amendment and has confirmed that it will not impact current collection operations.
On
As an
alternative to providing direct funding support to area municipalities, the
Region has confirmed it will conduct a region wide communication and education
program including:
The
Town’s proposed communication program includes the following;
The 2005 Waste Management
Operating Budget includes $32,500 for this communication program
At the
request of staff, the Region has provided a temporary “amnesty” for the month
of April 2005 when all but one plastic bag of leaf and yard material per
household will be collected. The
remaining bag will be stickered with a notice that plastic is not
acceptable. The sticker will also
contain information on acceptable containers and request that the material be
repackaged.
This
approach will ensure residents are made aware of the program change without the
inconvenience of repackaging all of their material during the amnesty period.
Effective
Autumn
is the heaviest time of the leaf and yard material collection season. As such, staff recommends that the Region be
requested to provide an additional temporary plastic bag “amnesty” for the
month of October 2005 similar to the April “amnesty”.
This will make the
transition to no plastic for leaf and yard material a lot easier for residents and ensure awareness among residents
who may not have set out leaf and yard material over the spring and summer
months.
No Change To Collection Schedule Recommended in 2005
To alleviate the impact of removing plastic bags as approved containers for residential leaf
and yard material and to prevent
leaf and yard material from being disposed of with residential garbage, staff
investigated the cost of offering a weekly collection service for leaf and yard
material during the months of May, June, October and November 2005. Currently,
leaf and yard material is collected every other week from April to
November.
The 2005 Budget for leaf and yard
material collection is $536,534, or $90.94 per tonne to collect 5,900 tonnes of
material. Miller Waste has proposed a
price of $103.29 per tonne for all leaf and yard material collected in 2005, or
$609,411 to increase the service level.
Miller’s proposal would add $72,877 to the costs of collecting leaf and
yardwaste in 2005. Table #1 illustrates
the cost impact of Miller Waste’s proposed price on the 2005 waste management
budget.
2005 Cost to Increase Leaf and Yard Material Collection Frequency
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Cost |
Difference |
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2005 Leaf and Yard Collection
Budget |
$536,534 |
$72,877 |
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Miller Proposal to Increase
Service Level (rejected) |
$609,411 |
The 2005 Waste Management Operating Budget does not include a provision
for increasing the cost of collecting leaf and yard material. In addition, increasing the collection
service level in May, June, October and November 2005 would provide no
additional benefit at this time.
Staff has rejected Miller Waste’s proposal and recommends that the current leaf and yard material collection schedule
remain every other week from April to November in 2005.
Staff will monitor the
impact of removing plastic bags as approved containers
for the residential collection of leaf and yard material on collection
operations in 2005.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
The Legal Department has reviewed and concur
with the language of the proposed by-law amendment.
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Peter Loukes, P.Eng., Director, Operations
and Asset Management |
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Jim Sales, Commissioner of Community and Fire
Services |
Q:\Commission Share\Operations and Asset
Management\Reports\2005\C & U\Waste\32-95 Amendment - plastic LY bags.doc
