Mayor Bob Simpson confirmed that decision at last night’s Council meeting.
He says the city has been subsidizing commercial garbage pickup in the downtown core, on the west side and out in the two mile flat area for years.
Simpson says it is also an unfair advantage to businesses in Southhills…
“They all pay the same commercial tax rate but those getting city commercial garbage pickup are getting a subsidy, where those in Southhills that are using a private commercial garbage pickup are having to pay the full freight for that, so that inequity has long needed to be addressed.”
Simpson says the savings will enable the City to hire a solid waste manager out at the landfill, a position he says is needed to address today’s world land filling that is very heavily regulated…
“The people who have reflections of open garbage dumps where they could dump their garbage at any time. There were no gates, no fences, no scales, no attendants etc….they are living in, you know, the deep past. In today’s world land filling is very heavily regulated, to protect water, to protect air, they are now adding greenhouse gas emission reductions because landfills can be a large source of methane emissions.”
Simpson says they believe, with a landfill manager, they will be able to meet the new standards in a much more cost effective way.
He says the full-time worker that was driving the commercial garbage truck will shift over as a landfill operator, which would also be a new position.
Simpson says commercial garbage pickup will continue until July to give the impacted businesses some time to adjust.
There is no change to residential garbage pickup.
Simpson says a review of landfill fees and residential garbage rates will take place soon, something that is done every year.