Automated garbage a 'godsend,' says Mount Pearl worker

A long-time waste management worker in Mount Pearl says neighbouring city's could take cues from his city'ssuccessful garbage collection system.

St. John's is once again considering a multi-million-dollar plan to overhaul garbage removal services in the city.

Glenn Sheppard has collected garbage in Mount Pearl for 10years and said "the switch is a godsend."

"There's no more lugging it, the chance of injuring yourself has gone down dramatically and just wear and tear on the body is just gone."

Sheppard said lifting upwards of nine and 10 tonnes of garbage a day is taxing work. "We have fellers with bad backs, bad shoulders, bad knees, so now that's just taken that out of it," he said.

The chance of injuring yourself has gone down dramatically and just wear and tear on the body is just gone.- Glenn Sheppard

The plastic bins also protect workers from potentially dangerous items like needs and glass, he said.

"When we started this, there were several people who were adamant that they didn't like the idea of having to use a container. The same people, three and four months later, were saying this was just the best thing we've ever done."

The issue of automated garbage pick-up was raised in St. John's City Council chamber on Monday evening.

Similar to Mount Pearl, the proposed system would see residents issued plastic garbage bins, that would then be picked up by trucks fitted with robotic arms.

Coun.Danny Breen said it's time to once again get talking about implementing such a system ideallyto roll out over the next three years or so.

"It's something that I personally support," he said, adding there are some areas of the city where it might not work.

"I think it's a good idea. So that will come to council, to the finance committee fairly soon and then be considered in the 2016 budget."

Not a cheap plan

A similar system was previously proposed but was delayed in 2013 due to budget constraints.

• Robo-garbage shelved in St. John's

Breen said he hears a lot ofcomplaints from residents about torn-up garbage bags, lingering fishnets and unsightly dirty old sheets.

He thinks the automated garbage system could possibly alleviate those concerns.

However, the new system would not come cheap. Breen says it could cost about $5 million over a three-year period.

He also said it will notmean job cuts and it will actually improve safety for city staffwho will no longer have to handle bags that may contain glass or needles.

The finance committee and council haven't approved the plan yet. If they do, work on implementing the changes could start as early as January 2016.

In an interview with CBC News, Coun. Jonathan Galgay said the $5 millionwould be used to purchase 15 new vehicles, robotic arms and 40,000 medium-sized bins to be distributed throughout the city.

Mount Pearl Mayor Randy Simms said it took four months for the program to become fully implemented in Mount Pearl. However, Galgay thinks that's too ambitious a timeline for St. John's.

"To compare the city of St. John's to Mount Pearl apples to oranges," he said."They're a small municipality, they have different geographic features that we don't have, particularly the downtown within Ward 2."

Galgay said certain streets would be exempt based on hills and parking restrictions.