Canada/Ottawa to test new waste treatment strategy
The result of political compromise and a "disappointment" for local environmentalists, reduced garbage collection in Ottawa begins next week. But some people are wondering whether the City will finally be forced to adopt a bolder approach.
As of September 30, Ottawa households will be able to drop off only three disposable items per garbage collection day, down from the previous limit of six.
This 50% reduction may seem ambitious, but since over 80% of households have already met the municipality's new target, it's not clear what will change.
This kind of approach won't solve our garbage problem," says Kate Reekie, Garbage Campaigner with local environmental organization CAFES Ottawa (Community Associations for Environmental Sustainability).
In a few years' time, I think we'll have to look at much more drastic ways of reducing our waste," she adds.
This is the latest strategy to reduce the amount of garbage going to the Trail Road landfill, which is expected to reach capacity by 2048.
It's also a necessary step to give the city more time to finalize a long-term garbage treatment plan - and raise sufficient funds to finance it.
Originally, municipal services had proposed a user-pay system.
Residents would have been asked to purchase tags and affix them to extra garbage bags, as is the practice in several other Canadian cities. The idea caused such confusion and vehement opposition that councillors struggled to find a satisfactory compromise.
This option was replaced by the possibility of purchasing yellow bags for excess waste. Cities like San Francisco have shown over the decades that the pay-as-you-throw model, with its mix of punishments and rewards, can be an effective solution.
We've always wanted to create economic incentives," says Alexa Kielty, coordinator of San Francisco's Zero Waste Residential Program, comparing garbage collection to other public services. The more garbage you produce, the bigger the garbage can and the more expensive it is. This is what has driven people to compost and recycle.
In her opinion, Ottawa's new limit seems to correspond to a huge amount of waste, but she points out that a city's level of urban density also counts.
The bigger the houses, the more surface area people have, the more opportunity they have to accumulate things they don't need," explains Ms. Kielty. I think if we have less space, we consume less.
The risk of illegal dumping
While Ottawa hasn't fully embraced the user-pays model, other Ontario municipalities facing landfill dilemmas have.
A member of York University's Faculty of Environment and Urban Change, Calvin Lakhan has followed cities in their transition. He found the system to be incredibly effective in reducing household waste.
However, he has noticed some difficulties every time cities introduce a change to waste collection.
According to Lakhan, the change can lead to illegal dumping, something Ottawa's bylaw enforcement officers are preparing for. This is especially true when it comes to households who find that the new limits unfairly target them because they are more numerous and therefore produce more garbage.
We need to limit what people can throw away and waste in order to encourage recycling, reuse or waste reduction, points out Calvin Lakhan. But there will be start-up and growth difficulties.
That's where a gradual implementation campaign comes in, without early sanctions.
The hammer doesn't fall until later," says Trevor Barton, executive director of the non-profit Municipal Waste Association. They [people] get used to it gradually and can adapt.
Thinking outside the box
Some of Canada's most successful cities have adopted other creative solutions, including unlimited collection days once or twice a year, which encourage what Barton calls controlled scavenging between neighbors.
The use of clear garbage bags has also worked well in cities that want to keep items that should be composted or recycled out of the trash.
This is what the town of Markham, Ontario, did, despite the frustration it generated among residents.
They didn't want it. But the town went ahead, because they knew it would reduce pollution," says Lakhan. Sometimes, the municipality has to put its foot down.
Supporting the best policy, regardless of its popularity, is exactly what Ecology Ottawa's big boss, William van Geest, hoped the City of Ottawa would be able to do.
In his view, the rejection of the municipal officials' proposal sweeps a key issue under the carpet at a time when Ottawa is in the throes of a veritable "financial crisis".
As for Lakhan, he believes that the key to convincing the public is to make them understand that waste management is never really free. The more waste you manage, the more it costs the city, and therefore the higher your property taxes," he explains.
Source: ici.radio-canada.ca/
