Article content

Should the city decrease the maximum number of garbage bags allowed at the curb? Institute a pay-per-bag system? Fine people for not recycling or placing organic waste in their green bins?

The debate begins now. All possibilities are on the table to prevent heaps of trash from filling the municipal dump. The city is developing its second solid waste master plan, which will be a 30-year strategy to divert trash from the Trail Road landfill and manage recycling programs.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or All options being considered to keep trash out of the municipal dump as council digs into garbage policy Back to video

“We’re going to look at all options,” environment committee chair Scott Moffatt said Tuesday during a special meeting on the waste plan’s scope of work.

It means the city could, after council approves the plan later this term, change the rules for residential garbage pickup as early as 2023.

Moffatt is reluctant to move to a collection system that penalizes people for not recycling enough. Low-income families could be impacted and it’s not residents’ fault that producers aren’t using more environmentally sensitive packaging material, he said.