Beaconsfield cuts garbage production by 36%

Reductions follow introduction of fees based on amount of waste produced

Image | Beaconsfield trash

Caption: Beaconsfield's new trash policy measures the amount of garbage and size of the bin. (CBC)

The City of Beaconsfield has managed to slash its garbage production by 36 per cent in less than a month.
Residents pay an annual fee for garbage pickups. Since January, each household also pays a small fee every time their garbage bin is emptied based on the size of their bin and volume of waste.
"When the truck goes around, only half the bins of residents are out, meaning that residents are putting their bins out every other week," said city councillor Karen Messier.
The change has helped reduce Beaconsfield's waste production since January.
"Each time the truck comes by and the bin is lifted by the automatic arm, there's a chip inside and that registers as a collection," Messier said.
The fee varies according to the size of the bin. Residents are charged anywhere from 40 cents to $1.20 for every pickup.
Corrections:
  • An earlier version of this story said Beaconsfield reduced its garbage production by half. In fact, it was reduced by 36 per cent. February 5, 2016 2:44 PM