Fresh from a decision on the single largest project in London’s history, city council can come back to Earth with a more mundane issue: trash collection.

It’s a funny quirk of city governance: Politicians deal with things as big as approving a $500-million bus-only rapid transit system, as they did this week, while also debating so-called backyard issues that affect all citizens.

But don’t expect them to be any less passionate about proposed changes to curbside garbage pickup — the plan is generating a record level of online feedback.

“People are passionate about garbage pickup,” said Jay Stanford, city hall’s environmental director, noting nearly 4,000 people have filled out an online “feedback form” on the issue in just the last few weeks.

“That’s a huge number.”

Here’s what’s proposed: The curbside trash container limit would drop to three from four, with homeowners able to buy $1.50 “bag tags” for each extra container they take to the curb.

It will be the subject of a public meeting at next week’s civic works committee meeting, before politicians vote on the proposal.

It’s been 10 years since London set the four-container limit.

A “container” is defined most easily as a single lift by collectors — it could be four separate bags, or four cans (up to 20 kilograms) filled with smaller bags.

Stanford says 90 per cent of Londoners already put out an average of three containers per collection — suggesting the change won’t cause great stress on most households.

But, he noted, about 60 per cent of respondents so far want to keep the four-container limit.

“The weight of the garbage we see out there now suggests Londoners can easily do a three-container limit,” Stanford said. “We believe we can quite easily get to (it).”

On the introduction of $1.50 bag tags, Stanford notes Londoners who’ve hit their four-container limit can take extra trash to a city depot for that price — so this is essentially a continuation of that.

A main reason for lowering the limit is to encourage Londoners to recycle more, moving the city closer to provincial waste-diversion targets. And with no political will to start a “green bin” curbside compost program, this may be the best step, though a small one.

Coun. Jesse Helmer, who chairs the civic works committee, would consider dropping the limit even lower, to two containers.

“It makes a lot of sense to lower it,” he said. “The question is, to what limit? The question is, do you want to go down to two, or three?”

If the change is approved, staff recommend enforcing the new limit starting in January 2017.

pmaloney@postmedia.com

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TRASH TALK

Council’s civic works committee will host a public meeting Wednesday June 8 (4:30 p.m.) before debating a staff recommendation to change curbside garbage collection. Here’s what’s proposed: