Sudbury unlikely to change garbage collection rules despite nearly full landfill

The City of Greater Sudbury is keeping itscurrent garbage pickup rules around for at least a little bit longer.

At a Mondayoperations meeting, councillors voted in favour of maintaining the collection of three bags weekly. Officials were considering a change that would see the limit reduced to two bags with collection taking place every other week.

It appears Sudbury will only be able to use its current landfill for another 25 to 29 years, according to city staff. The cost to open a new one is estimated to be at least $40 million.

Ward 10 Coun. Fern Cormiersaidthe city is faced with a critical challengethat will have to be resolved eventually.

"Fair enough to say at $40 to $50 million, that's something like a new arena, but we could end up needing a new garbage dump instead. So, I just wanted to put that out there for public consumption,"Cormiersaid.

"These are the decisions that at some point council will have to make down the road."

City staff wants residents to boost their recycling and composting efforts to delay moving toward a new landfill.