NWEP is not suggesting that the City of New Westminster do anything radical or unusual. There are numerous examples of other jurisdictions in BC and in the Pacific Northwest that have adopted faired, more progressive garbage collection systems. The introduction of Automated Waste Collection is the perfect opportunity for New Westminster to benefit form the experiences of these other jurisdictions.
The City of Vancouver offers 5 sizes of bins in their waste collection stream, with the smallest being 75L, with a small annual fee attached to larger bins. Port Moody uses the 120L bin as a “standard” and charges an extra $100/year for a larger bin. Although Port Coquitlam has adopted the 240L bin as the “standard”, they are immediately moving to alternate-week collection, making the effective weekly size 120L, and are offering 120L carts for a nominal annual savings.
The examples set in Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington are even better examples of how economic incentives can be used to reduce trash, and reduce the burden on taxpayers that tipping fees cause. The difference in annual cost between the smallest bin available in Seattle (50L) and the largest (360L) is almost $700!. Even the City of Burnaby offers almost a $300 annual difference between choosing the largest and smallest bins.
Finally, we can all learn from the municipality of Ladysmith, on Vancouver Island, where residents are limited to one 75L can of Green waste and one 75L can of mixed garbage every two weeks. That is a weekly maximum of 37.5L of garbage going to the landfill. Note that this is without a significant increase in illegal dumping or violent protest from the citizenry. The City advertised, provided education about recycling alternatives and composting, and got it done. How does this compare to New Westminster’s commitment to the Zero Waste Challenge?
