Rocky Mountain House town council explored the potential of offering residents larger garbage bins, but the idea appears to have fizzled out.
Just before Christmas, Coun. Dale Shippelt made a motion for administration to draft a report on the feasibility of providing larger, 360 L garbage bins.
Currently, residents are issued standard 240 L carts which cannot exceed 90 kg (198 lbs). The larger 360 L waste cart can handle 135 kg (297 lbs).
In administration’s report, they indicated the supplier prefers to sell in bulk, meaning that large orders would be most cost-effective. An order of 100 would see the price per unit at $118.55, while an order of 300 carts would equal $86.11.
The bigger bins would also incur an extra cost of $11 per month on residents’ utility bills to account for the extra tipping cost of weighty garbage.
Under the town’s fees and rate bylaw, the current monthly charge for pickup is $28 — this is for all three cart pickups.
Concerns were also voiced about storage of any new bins, as the 360 L waste cart would take up a lot of space.
During council discussion, it was revealed that residents have the option to request a second standard bin — something that members of council were unaware of.
A resident can purchase another bin for $75. However, an extra standard bin would incur an additional charge of $22 for monthly pickup, as garbage tipping fees are much greater than recycling and organics.
Additionally, administration indicated there has been very little demand from residents for a second cart with only five being requested since 2020.
Since the three-bin program began six years ago, Rob Shanks, director of engineering and operations says the stated goal was to get residents to recycle more — something he says residents are generally doing a good job of.
He adds, many of the materials that enter the landfill can now be recycled, and questioned whether adding larger garbage bins would undermine the recycling goal.
Citing the initial upfront cost of bringing in the bins, the limited storage space, and low demand among residents, Coun. Kevin Stalker said the proposal is a “non-starter” for him.
Council made a motion to accept the report as information, and engage the town’s communications team to make the public more aware of the availability of a second bin.
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A town of Rocky Mountain House waste bin. (94.5 Rewind radio stock photo)
In Red Deer, residents have the option to choose from one of three garbage bins.
Small 120 L bins incur a utility rate of $17, while the standard medium 240 L bin is $22, and the large 360 L bin carries a monthly utility cost of $29.75.
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