The nay votes came from councillors adamantly opposed to any form of pay-as-you-throw policy, who say it adds an unfair cost to families, especially large families that produce more trash, and would lead to illegal dumping of garbage in parks and ditches.A motion from Brown, the Rideau-Carp councillor, to reduce the biweekly pickup to four items from the current six and have no bag-tag requirements was also defeated by a 5-5 tie.
Bury, whose public delegation was the first of seven at the committee, began his presentation by reading off the list of all 132 other municipalities that have a bag-tag system. Duncan Bury, from Waste Watch Ottawa, spoke at Monday’s meeting. He was disappointed by what transpired at the meeting.City staff say the waste reduction is desperately needed to buy time for the Trail Road Landfill, which is expected to run out of room as soon as 2036. Limiting households to 2.1 bags per pickup could divert up to 58 per cent of trash from the landfill and extend its life by two years.
The issue will be brought up again at the next full city council meeting on June 14 and Menard, the committee chair, said he expects more “robust debate” then.Article content