Biweekly garbage pickup would save $1M - but is it worth it?

It would save Hamilton taxpayers at least $1 millionto pick up garbage every two weeks.But some councillors say garbage pickup is such an essential service that the benefits which also include encouraging recycling and compostingaren'tworth it.

City staff is mulling overoptions to streamline waste collection and will present some ideas later this year.Among those ideas: cutting garbage collection back to every two weeks, much like areas such as Halton, Guelph and Peel.

If it gets debated, it'll be the third time since 2007.

Waste service is a priority for me and my constituents, and it's not one of those areas where I'm willing to cut corners.- Coun. Chad Collins

But at least two councillors say they're not on for the idea. Garbage pickup is one of the most basic and important front-line services taxpayers expect, they say. And it's not worth it to cut back on it to save $1 million.

"Waste service is a priority for me and my constituents, and it's not one of those areas where I'm willing to cut corners," said Chad Collins, Ward 5 councillor.

Waste management is "one of the most visible, consistent services we provide," said Sam Merulla, Ward 4 councillor.

To cut back to biweekly service is "insulting, and it doesn't add up."

'It's really premature'

Right now, conversations at city hall around biweekly garbage pickup are purely theoretical. The city's numerous waste disposal contracts expire in 2020, said Betty Matthews-Malone, operations director. In 2018, the city will take requests for proposal from prospective contractors and award the service.

I don't want to be on a council today, in my lifetime, that will deal with a new siting for landfill.- Coun. Maria Pearson

That means it's a great time to look at how the city can improve waste collection, Matthews-Malone said. And what the contract might entail.

So staff is talking to other municipalities and gathering ideas among them, collection dates, service contract details, and yes, biweekly garbage collection.

"It's really premature," she said. "It's kind of 'stay tuned.'"

Those in favour of biweekly garbage pickup say it's greener and encourages people to recycle and compost more. It also saves money.

"They have seen a slight increase in diversion," she said of some municipalities who switched to biweekly pickup. But "nothing is etched in stone. What we're doing is we're fact finding."

'It would be a nightmare'

Public works staff will present ideas to city councillors later this year. If biweekly pickup is one of them, it will be the third time in less than 10 years that city council has debated the issue.

Maria Pearson, Ward 10 councillor and chair of the waste management advisory committee, is ready for it. She wants biweekly garbage pickup.

"I don't want to be on a council today, in my lifetime, that will deal with a new siting for landfill," she said.

"It won't happen. It'll have to be incineration. And just imagine the argument and the cost."

"It would be a nightmare."