Curbside recycling, trash-bag limits coming to Saint John

Curbside recycling is on its way to Saint John, but there could be added costs for residents,especially those who do not sorttheir trash for recycling.

A report on the planned program was included in Monday night's city council agenda but was not discussed.

It is raising questions, however, especially about the impact the program could have on lower income households.

"It came out of nowhere, it just came out of nowhere," said Coun. Ray Strowbridge, who says he first learned of the plan when he consulted the city agenda package early Sunday evening.

Extra charges a worry

He posted the report on his Facebook page and asked for responses.

"Curbside recycling is great," Strowbridge said. "I haven't seen anybody have an issue with that, but when you start wanting to charge people extra money, you can appreciate that a lot of people are not going to be happy with that."

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The project would see curbside recycling phased in over the next two years, beginning with the delivery of a 180-litre (48-gallon) trash bin to households on the garbage collection system.

Two smaller bins would also be delivered to handle recyclable items.

When the program kicks off, the amount of trash allowed per household will be limited to the number of garbage bags that will fit in the new bin.

Additional trash will be subject to an overflow fee expected to amount to about $2 per bag.

A special tag would have to be attached to the garbage bags.

Tags for extra bags

Overflow garbage "bag tags" are used in many Canadian communitiesincluding the city of Toronto, where they are wrapped around the top (knotted) part of any bags that will not fit in the garbage bin.

The tags are purchased by residents in advance at retailers such as Canadian Tire and Shoppers Drug Mart.

Strowbridge wants a council debate on the program before it goes much further.

I don't think it's entirely a bad idea. I think it needs to be rethought.- Pamela Ross, resident who recycles

Currently, residents who wish to recycle things such as plastic and cardboard are required to sort and drop them at one of a series of blue-bin depots around the city

The municipal report estimates only 15 to 25 per cent of city households actively do so, and anticipates a 50 per cent increase in the volume of recyclables being diverted once the curbside program is fully operational.

The citypays $108 per tonne for solid waste disposal at the Crane Mountain Landfill. About 11,000 tonnes are dumped there annually from city trucks.

Residents who spoke to CBCNews on Tuesday were just learning about the curbside plan.

"Recycling is important to me," said Central Peninsula resident Jennifer Brown, who was feeding the blue bins at an east Saint John depot.

Not enough information

She said curbside recycling would definitely encourage more people to sort their trash, but shewants to learn more details about the new program before endorsing it.

West side resident Pamela Ross,also a recycler, said she worries the added fees could largely hurt people living on lower incomes.

"I don't think it's entirely a bad idea," she said. "I think it needs to be rethought."

Two specially equipped city trucks are to be delivered by the end of this year to allow the launch of a pilot program.

A city spokesperson said the neighbourhoods for the pilot have not yet been selected.