Changes to Ottawa’s Curbside Collection Approved by Council
Regular newsletter readers, as well as radio listeners and patrons of the Manotick Messenger and Ottawa Citizen, will know that I have been extremely active on the waste collection file. I believe that a workable policy on waste management is vital for our residents.
Yesterday at Council, the issue of the City’s garbage collection policy was voted upon. Passing 22-2, Council supported a compromise motion that I moved with Councillor Carr and with the help of the Mayor. This compromise solution will see the City abandon the idea of bag tags, moving instead to a 3-item firm limit.
Though imperfect, and not my ideal solution, this is still a victory for our community. Keep reading to learn more about how and why we got to this compromise, what it means for you and your curbside collection, why this is an important win for Ward 21, and what the next steps look like for waste management in Ottawa.
How and why we got here
Earlier this spring, staff presented Council with a dilemma: the City’s landfill at Trail Road, which is in our Ward, is running out of space. Without a change in residents’ behaviour, staff estimated that the landfill could run out of capacity before a new solution such as waste-to-energy comes online, which would increase costs significantly on taxpayers as we would have to ship our waste elsewhere.
Moreover, the province has set targets for waste diversion (that is, the amount of waste that is being recycled or put in the green bin instead of in the garbage). Ottawa is falling well short of its diversion targets and 58% of what is thrown away in the garbage in Ottawa could instead be recycled or put in the green bin.
Lastly, the timeline could not be pushed back, as staff needed to negotiate a new contract with the various waste service providers in the City. Pushing back a decision, and thus pushing back a contract negotiation, could come at significant long-term costs to taxpayers.
For these reasons, the vast majority of Council was supportive of some kind of change. This is the most important of the factors: there was a majority of Council that would not allow the status-quo to continue. Personally, I would have been happy if the status quo was maintained as I believe the process for finding a new long-term solution can be expedited and better diversion rates could be accomplished through improving multi-residential diversion and better education. But sticking to my guns would not have been fruitful; Council was going to support some plan to move from the current system to something new, and I did not want to let perfect be the enemy of the good.
Staff proposed a bag-tag program whereby residents would effectively have 2 tax rate-funded bags every 2 weeks with the option to purchase additional tags. This proposal was, in my view, unacceptable. It was too radical a change. It introduced a more costly bureaucracy, it was administratively burdensome on residents, and it would only extend the life of the landfill by up to 2 years. Simply put, it was unworkable. This proposal, as well as a similar proposal that was debated at Committee, failed on a tie. These proposals were set to go to Council for consideration.
At Committee, I also proposed a compromise solution: a 4-item hard limit, where residents could set out up to 4 garbage bins every 2 weeks. This system would not have an option for residents to pay for additional curbside collection, but it did seek to create carve outs for large families, farmers, and many other groups who were at risk of being negatively impacted. This proposal also failed on a tie at Committee, and was set to go to Council for consideration.
Recognizing that the matter was deadlocked and unwilling to risk a situation where the unacceptable proposal from staff would become City-wide policy, I worked across the aisle with Councillors of every political persuasion, with my follow Environment Committee members, with City staff, and the Mayor’s office to come up with a compromise that can work for the City.
The compromise that we landed on was a 3-item firm limit plan. I moved the motion, seconded by Councillor Carr, and it passed at Council 22-2. Proposed amendments to the motion were defeated at Council.
What the changes mean for you
My motion that was passed by Council means that in Q2 2024, Ottawa will shift from the current 6-item unenforced policy to a 3-item enforced policy. Until that time, there will be no changes for residents.
You may note that I am saying “items” rather than bags. It is important to note that this is an item limit, not a bag limit. For instance, an “item” can contain many smaller garbage bags. So long as residents use garbage containers or bins, they will be able to dispose of as many bags as can fit into a container with a volume of up to 140 litres. Each container counts as one item and can weigh up to 33lbs and can be 35 inches tall by 18 inches in diameter, so about 3 feet by one and a half feet. City staff clarified yesterday though that garbage collectors will not be coming around with a scale or with a measuring tape, indicating that the implementation will likely have some flexibility beyond what the by-law specifies.
So to be clear: under the new policy, residents will be able to dispose of up to 420 litres of garbage weighing up to 99lbs every 2 weeks. While the limit of 3 items will be enforced, staff have indicated that they intend to offer some flexibility.
While some of the finer details will be sorted out by an implementation plan presented by staff, it is clear that the new policy will be workable for the vast majority of residents. Already, 85% of residents are complying within these limits and will not see any change. As most of what Ottawans throw away can actually be recycled or put in the green bin, those residents who are not currently achieving this limit have many options to improve their diversion.
Additionally, this policy will expand the yellow bag program. Currently, the City’s yellow bag program provides disposal for small businesses in Ottawa. It functions similarly to a bag tag, though each yellow bag costs $4.30. Under the new policy, residents will be allowed to purchase these bags, providing flexibility for those who need to dispose of extra waste.
Lastly, it was important to ensure that farmers were not unduly punished for growing and raising our food. As a result, I made sure that a carve out was provided to farmers who use curbside collection. Even after the limit is introduced, farmers will be able to dispose of farm waste without incurring any additional costs or facing additional restrictions. This is a major win for rural Ottawa and for our communities.
What this means for Ward 21
I am the first to acknowledge that this change is imperfect and will present unwelcome change for some residents. But it is an important victory for our community, especially when compared to the alternatives.
This solution provides about 40% more tax rate-funded garbage allowance than the City’s proposal, allowing greater flexibility and less administrative burden. This policy saves the City about $1 million annually when compared to the staff plan. By being “items” rather than “bags”, it is easily accomplishable by most residents while still improving waste diversion and supporting the City’s provincially set diversion targets. It will extend the life of the landfill while avoiding increased bureaucracy while still providing residents with flexibility. It provides carve outs for farmers who are vital to our local food supply and culture as rural communities. It is also about 40% cheaper for residents than the bag tag proposal for residents to get up to 4 items of disposal.
The alternative to this was a costly, administratively onerous, and restrictive bag-tagging program. To be clear, the status quo was not an option which was being considered by the vast majority of Council. While I would have preferred to see the status quo maintained, there were very few on Council who held that view. Instead, I worked diligently on a compromise that prevented the worst outcomes while creating sufficient flexibility and simplicity to be workable. Despite it being a contentious issue, I was able to work with Councillor Carr and Mayor Sutcliffe to reach across the aisle and get the vast majority of Council on board with my motion.
Moving forward, this victory will demonstrate to my colleagues that, as your Councillor, I can get things done, that I can find workable compromises, and that I can win the support of Council. This will help me be a more effective representative for our communities’ interests.
The future of waste management in Ottawa
Yesterday’s vote provided a high-level policy direction moving forward. Staff will now work on specific roll out details, including a communications and education plan, and how the policy will work in practice.
There are currently some unanswered questions such as how the system will work with bulky items like furniture. Council will have the opportunity to weigh in on these matters once staff propose their implementation plan. This implementation plan will come to Council prior to the introduction of the new policy in Q2 2024, and once an approved plan is in place, my office will update residents on the finer details of the new policy.
Additionally, when the implementation plan is proposed, we will have the opportunity to suggest future carve outs, caveats, exceptions, and amendments as necessary. This is not a “one and done” vote, but rather a process that we will continue navigating. As ever, I will continue to ensure that our communities’ interests are represented at the Council table.
Moreover, later this year, City staff will be proposing changes to multi-residential collection. Currently, the waste diversion rate for multi-residential units is woefully inadequate. I look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure that multi-residential units are brought up to a fair standard alongside those receiving curbside collection.
Another major change will be coming over the course of the next few years, though residents may not notice much change on their end. The province is moving all municipalities to an “individual producer responsibility” system for recycling. This means that recycling services will no longer be paid for by the City, and will instead be managed by the producers themselves. Though collection will remain the same for residents, you may notice a gradual increase in the number of items that can be recycled as producers change their packaging and materials for many products, and there may also be a lower cost for the City when it comes to managing our waste.
Lastly, as I have discussed in previous updates, the City needs a long-term waste solution. I worked with Councillor Hubley on a motion a few weeks ago that provides staff with clear timelines for providing Council with the information necessary to make a decision on Ottawa’s long-term waste management during this term of Council. Personally, I am in favour of waste-to-energy, though I am open to any option that moves our City away from environmentally irresponsible and expensive landfilling.