Winnipeg adopts trash carts

City council has approved a multimillion-dollar plan to outfit 42,500 homes in northwest Winnipeg with new, wheeled trash carts.

Council voted 9-6 for the controversial plan at a specialmeeting Wednesday.

The seven-year, $13.3-million contract foremptying the binsis being awarded to BFI Canada.

Under the contract, residences in northwest Winnipeg will be served by automated collection beginningFeb. 1.

The wheeled garbage carts, which will be supplied by the city at a cost of about $2 million,will need to berolled by residents to the front curb or lane on garbagedays.

The carts will replace traditional garbage cans and save the city money because they make trash pickup easier, supporters say. They can be emptied by one person operating a truck designed specifically to lift and dump them.

The 240-litre carts are about the size of three regular garbage cans. Darryl Drohomerski, the city's manager of solid waste, has said the program will also eliminate the need for environmentally unfriendly plastic garbage bags because homeowners will be able todump loose trash into thecarts.

The carts'large wheels make them easy to rollover curbs, gravel and snow, the city said in a news release.

Barry MacBride, director of the city's water and waste department, saidthe cart hasa number of benefits over the traditional can.

"It's better for the environment," he said. "It's better for worker safety, and it's ultimately less expensive to operate than a manual system."

Newer and fewer trucks picking up the trashwill alsomean lower emission levels, he said.

These benefits have persuaded cities such as Toronto, Regina, Saskatoon, Lethbridge, Brandon and Burnaby, B.C.,to move to automated cart collection for garbage, organicsor recycling, MacBride said.

Coun. Gord Steeves, whorepresents theSt. Vital ward,said the carts represent progress for Winnipeg.

"I think if you were to take a snapshot into the future of any major North American city 15 years from now, you will not see a garbage bag beside the curb come garbage day," Steeves said.

Thecity willsoon mail an update to all residents, and a detailed information package will be placed inside each cart when they are delivered. In the meantime, residents with questions about automated cart collection can visit the water and waste department on the city's website.

"We think residents of northwest Winnipeg will be pleased with the new garbage collection system, but we also know there will be lots of questions," Drohomerski said.

Plan faced opposition

The cart proposal has faced some opposition on council. Some councillors were upset the city administration seemed to try to rushapproval through last week, although it wasn't on council's agenda.

Support from11 councillors two-thirds of council was required to add the matter to the agenda but only 10 councillors would provide it. Some councillors said there hadn't been enough information or public warning aboutthe program.

Other councillors who blocked the motion and voted against the plan on Wednesday were critical of the contract being offered to BFI Canada.

The Toronto-based company already holds five of seven residential garbage contracts in the city, and some councillorsexpressed concern about a near monopoly.

But BFI submitted the lowest bid, which met all the requirements of the city's tender,the city said ina news release Wednesday.

Mayor Sam Katz called for Wednesday'sspecial meeting afterthe motion to hear the matter failed last week.

If the garbage project works well in northwest Winnipeg, it likely will be extended to other parts of the city, officials have said.

High-tech carts

The carts will be the highest-tech trash containers Winnipeg has ever seen, Drohomerski has said.

They would contain a radio frequency tag linked to a database telling the city wherea cart belongs if it goes astray.

Thetags are similar to those used by retailer Wal-Mart to track merchandise. A tag is about the size of a piece of chewing gum and containsa little piece of circuitry, he said. A scannercan read the information andsend it backthrough a database.