Whitehorse City Council votes down curbside recycling contract

Whitehorse City Council voted five to two Monday night not to award a contract for curbside recycling.

Councillor Betty Irwin was among the majority."We can go anywhere we want to now," she said. "We're not bound by anything."

The$1.2M plan would have added a$17 monthly fee for households, or about $200 a year.

CouncillorsDan Boyd, Samson Hartland, Jocelyn Curteanu and Rob Fendrick also voted down the curbside plan.

Fendrick said that for him it's a question of timing. He wonders if the upcoming territorial election might result in new recycling legislation.

"I think it would be premature at this point to bring in something of our own. It would become a duplicate and I think we'd be looking towards undoing what we did."

Fendrick saidhe'll bring the issue back to council if the new territorial government doesn't move on recycling.

'At least another year'

Coun. Roslyn Woodcock, who together with Mayor Dan Curtis wanted to see the curbside program move ahead right away, was disappointed with the vote.

"I think we all know that even if magic happens and we have a brand new set of people who are all about recycling, it's still going to be at minimum another year if not far longer before any other process comes into play."

Coun. Curteanuhadasked council to consider more public consultation;instead, council went ahead with the vote.

Meanwhile, Raven Recycling, which was counting on the curbside contract, isn't sure what its future holds.

Its chair, Jacqueline Bedard, saidit's likely bleak.