Some Okotoks residents may be in shock from increases to their Town utility bills next fall with the launch of mandatory community-wide organic and recycling pick-up.
The cost of garbage collection will rise by $1 per month on Jan. 1 to offset increased tipping fees at the landfill.
However, anyone not signed up to the Town’s recycling collection program will see their fees for waste collection double in the fall.
Starting in January, households currently subscribed to the curbside recycling program will pay $20.50 per month for both recycling and garbage collection. Those who are not part of the recycling program will pay $13.25 per month for garbage collection.
Once recycling collection becomes mandatory in fall 2016, each household in town will get an estimated $25 per month bill.
Okotoks sustainability coordinator Dawn Smith said the $25 cost is an estimate and will depend on the rates charged for organic waste collection. The contract for organic waste will go out to tender in the spring.
The fees are similar to those in surrounding communities with full-service collection and some that offer only garbage pick-up, she said.
“It will be quite a drastic change for the community,” said Smith.
Each single-family household in Okotoks will receive a blue recycling bin and a green organic waste bin. The Town’s 2016 proposed budget includes $390,000 to purchase the green carts for organic waste collection.
Beginning in January 2017, garbage collection will move to a “pay as you throw” concept, Smith said.
“It’s a philosophical move toward the less you throw away, the less you pay,” she said. “If we’re not paying the tonnage fee for your garbage, the cost can come back to you.”
The frequency-based rate promotes waste diversion and encourages residents to use the recycling and organic waste bins, she said.
According to resource recovery manager Paul Lyons, black garbage bins are equipped with radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags that will monitor waste collection at each household.
The RFID tags are read by the arms of the truck each time a bin is tipped, he said, and the data is recorded in the Town’s database. At the end of each month the number of times a bin was tipped will be calculated and residents will receive a refund for the weeks their garbage is not collected.
Refunds may appear quarterly or on each bill, depending on how well the RFID system software communicates with the utility billing software, which will be tested over the next year, he said.
Lyons said the Town understands not all programs will be designed to fit 100 per cent of residents, but hopes that public education can ease residents into the changes.
“We’re hoping residents will give us the freedom and time to develop and design the program,” he said. “We will entertain calls, emails and face-to-face discussion to address concerns and to share our vision.”
Public consultation will also take place at open houses through 2016, he said.
“Administration will address concerns based on information we receive from the public,” he said. “But ultimately anything we do will be done within the parameters of the program.”
Town council was split on the merits of the universal recycling program at its meeting on Nov. 9.
Coun. Carrie Fischer felt the proposal came forward too early, without sufficient research to understand why some residents currently choose not to subscribe to the curbside service offered by the Town.
“We don’t understand the impacts to people,” she said. “We don’t know why they’re not taking the subscription service, if it’s financial or personal choice.”
Fischer said charging residents an estimated $50 for utility services they may not use is “a little heavy-handed.”
Coun. Matt Rockley agreed, suggesting an amendment to the proposed program to include an opt-out option for residents who chose not to use the recycling services. The amendment was defeated.
“There will be some households this program doesn’t work for and I think forcing people to pay for a service they don’t use is an overreach for a municipal government,” he said.
Coun. Ed Sands disagreed with the opt-out option, saying that residents should not be able to opt-out of municipal utility services.
“Universal means universal,” he said. “It’s time to move forward with this.”
Sands said the “pay as you throw” concept for waste management will satisfy the opt-out option because residents will receive refunds if they do not use garbage collection.
Voting in favour of the proposed program, Coun. Tanya Thorn said the concept is something the entire community has bought into and the Town needs to show leadership by following through with its vision.
Thorn said the Town is a leader in water conservation, but is far behind in the area of waste management.
If Okotoks continues to promote itself as an environmental leader, the universal waste management program is an important step, she said.
“Our community is committed to this and I think this is environmental leadership and we need to move forward,” she said.
The Town is also exploring commercial recycling options for the Okotoks Recreation Centre to help reduce waste in the public facility, Smith said. Other Town facilities, like the Rotary Performing Arts Centre, the Okotoks Art Gallery and the municipal building have recycling bins.
A garbage analysis at the recreation centre revealed the majority of waste collected was coffee cups half-full of liquid, which would contaminate other recyclable materials if thrown into a blue bin, she said.
“We’re definitely working on it,” said Smith. “It’s been a challenge all year.”
