Whitehorse city council to solicit bids for curbside recycling

Whitehorse city councillors arestill toying with the idea of a user-paycurbside recycling program, but first they want some hard numbers.

"What we're saying is, we don't know what to do. We need the business community to come forward with some solutions," said mayor Dan Curtis at Monday's council meeting.

Councillorswere split on whether to pursue acurbside pickup program, but in the end, a majority agreed to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP). That way, the city would have a clear idea of how a program might work and what itwould cost.

"We're not here to take over the recycling services. We're not here to charge more fees, or taxes to line our own pockets," saidCouncillor Jocelyn Curteanu. She said the city can't continueto keep its recycling processors afloat with diversion credits, so those businessesare "going to go under" unless a new solution is found.

"We're here to ensure that the choice of most Yukoners, which, as we see due to the volume that we're receiving, is to recycle, is that we can make it sustainable," Curteanu said.

Councillor Samson Hartland, however, argued that the current systeminvolving private collectors and processing facilitiesis already sustainable.

"The private sector is already perfectly well and able to provide a service," he said.

A 2014 study estimated that curbside recycling would require a $15 fee for all households. Any bids on the RFPwould allow the city to determine more exactly what a program would cost homeowners. If it's deemed too expensive, council canignore the bids and scrap the whole idea.