User fees? Government funding? Whitehorse seeks recycling solutions

Whitehorse city councillors are bracing for a backlog of recyclables, as the city's biggest recycler says it cannot afford to stay in business. 

Jaqueline Bedard, president of the board at Raven Recycling, says the recycler is not looking for a "bailout" but rather a new model for funding in the long-term. 

“This is about a system of managing waste that is not sustainable or adequate,” she told Whitehorse City Council last night.

As of Oct. 15, Raven Recycling will no longer accept items without deposits on them, including cardboard, glass and nonrefundable plastics. A 24-hour free drop-off for these products has been open in Whitehorse for 22 years. 

Mayor Dan Curtis and several councillors sympathized with Bedard while also expressing worry about a backlog of waste overwhelming the city's remaining recycler or being dumped in the landfill or even roadsides. 

​“Maybe we’ve been getting a free ride. I know that pop cans have been subsidizing all the other issues that there’s no money for, so we get that the business plan is flawed. It doesn’t work and it just spells bankruptcy for any organization, non-profit or otherwise,” Curtis said.

Councillor Mike Gladish wasn't the only one to wonder what will happen next.

“Do you think it’s realistic to ask people to hold on to their recyclables for a period of time?” he asked. “A solution isn’t going to happen in a couple of days.”

Recyclers and the city will likely ask the territorial government for direct funding or else an increase to beverage deposit fees.

Some citizens last night also said they’d accept user fees or an increased subsidy through city taxes. 

Whitehorse resident Cameron Eckhardt told city council that Raven Recycling has saved Whitehorse hundreds of thousands of dollars by avoiding the need to expand the landfill.

"Raven for 20 years has saved the taxpayers' money," he said. "Many people have asked in the last week if I am willing to pay for it. Of course I am willing to pay for it."  

P & M preparing for more customers

The changes at Raven Recycling leaves P & M Recyclers in Whitehorse as the only game in town when it comes to non-refundable household waste.

Owner Pat McInroy says he's expecting an increase in business after the Thanksgiving weekend.

"I'll probably have to put in another window into my building so that I can handle some extra staff,” he says. “And I hope construction gets done on Ogilvie Street very quickly so I can have access back to my building."

McInroy says he’ll welcome the new rush of customers but he hopes they’ll bring their refundables as well.

"I would never turn away a new customer, but a customer that just wants to bring me non-refundable material and take the refundable material to Raven, well that's not really a customer. That's just someone that's taking advantage of a service that I offer."

The territorial government is considering a change to Yukon's deposit fees on some beverage containers. The deposit fee could increase by five cents and apply to previously-exempt containers of milk.

Recyclers support the move but say it could take a year to take effect.  

McInroy says increasing the deposits on beverage containers would go a long way to helping the recycling costs.

"Quite simply, we haven't had a raise in the 15 years that I've been here. I'm still working on 1999 dollars."