New Gatineau garbage rules won't kick in until September

Gatineau council has decided residents won't have to stick to its new garbage limituntil September 15.

The changewas originally going to come into effect July 15.

• Gatineau approves new rules around garbage pickup, apartment composting
• Gatineau garbage rules could be adjusted again

Every two weeks, residents will be able to dispose of 120-litres of garbage for freein grey bins distributed by the city.

They'll have to pay 50 cents for each additional bag of garbage they leave at the curb, to a maximum of five bags.

The city's environmental services department had recommended a $2 rate for each additional bag, with a lower rate for residents in specific situations.

Council instead opted for a 50 cent rate as a "symbolic" incentive to discourage people from exceeding the grey bin limit and encourage them to recycle or compost instead.

'Charging for waste does work'

5 years ago

Duration 0:36

Coun. Maude Marquis-Bissonnette says the number of additional garbage pickups in Gatineau has dropped since the city began charging for the service in multi-residential buildings.

Giving discounts also posed legal issues because they could be seen as an incentive to pollute, said Plateau Coun.Maude Marquis-Bissonnette, chair of the city'sCommission sur le dveloppement du territoire, l'habitation et l'environnement.

The province is requiringGatineau reduce the amount of waste that goes to its dump by 45 per cent of its 2016 volume by 2020.