Heavy garbage pickup in Cape Breton region still to be decided

Cape Breton regional council has voted to issue tenders for the municipality's annual heavy garbage pickup, even though there's no guarantee it will be approved this year.

Francis Campbell, manager of solid waste for the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, urged council to take the action now because the municipality usually gathers heavy garbage in early May, before the cruise ship season begins.

However, since municipal budget talks won't happen until around that time, it's important to have contracts in place if the special pickup is approved, said Campbell.

Each year the municipality sends out a fleet of contractors and their trucks to gather an assortment of discarded furniture, appliances and a large number of other sizeable castoffs.

But at a cost of about $230,000 a year, it has been suggested that the program be dropped to save money for the financially-strapped municipality. 

Alternatively, there's also the option of considering a heavy garbage pickup every two years, Campbell said, adding that municipal staff are planning to outline details of that proposal and will present it to council.