Trash plan overhaul passed by council

City council has approved a major overhaul to Winnipeg's trash collection system that will cost residents $50 annually.

Council voted 11-4 to accept the plan that will see 240-litre rollout carts will be delivered to all single family homes in 2012, replacing all other garbage collection methods.

The fee to cover the new plan will be tacked onto residents water bills in quarterly payments.

'Future generations will thank us for taking action and showing leadership today.' —Mayor Sam Katz

The carts will be picked up and dumped by a truck with an automated arm, putting an end to the days of manual pickup.

Along with the trash carts, the city will also provide homes with a 240-litre cart, replacing the current manual blue box collection program.

Winnipeg has the worst waste rate (15 per cent) in Canada for diverting recyclable and compostable materials from the landfill, according to a news release issued by the city just after the council vote.

"We need to find a more sustainable way to deal with our garbage. Currently we bury all of our garbage at Brady Landfill, which harms the environment by producing greenhouse gasses and leachate, a noxious liquid that is a by-product of decomposing garbage," the release stated.

"Not only is this unsustainable environmentally but our costs are significantly increasing in order to treat these by-products."

The new waste management plan is aimed at increasing the waste diversion rate to 50 per cent or more by reducing household garbage and significantly increasing household recycling, the release stated.

A new $20 million recycling facility will be built in order to handle the additional recycling material, doubling capacity.

Residents will also be able to take bulky items, electronic waste, and household hazardous waste to community depots that will be established in four regions of the city at a cost of more than $13 million.

The depots will enable the public to dispose of those materials "in an environmentally-responsible way, reducing the risk of arson, illegal dumping, and improving public safety citywide," stated the city release.

"I am pleased that council today passed this comprehensive plan so we can move forward in ensuring we are diverting more material from our landfills and providing a better future for our children," said Mayor Sam Katz.

"People often talk the talk about being green and sustainable, but today council walked the walked and future generations will thank us for taking action and showing leadership today." 

Changes will begin to take effect in the fall of 2012.