When Wellington County officials evaluated its pilot project for rural garbage and blue box pick-up, it learned that the county is losing about $117,340 on its user pay bags this year.
Those bags sell in the community for $1.75 each, and they are the only bags that are picked up when garbage is gathered by county-hired companies. The county also offers a smaller bag, for $1, that can be used by seniors and others who generate smaller amounts of garbage.
The report stated, “As there is no separate tracking of sales to rural residents at the retail distributors, the revenue from the sale of user pay bags for the rural collection pilot was estimated by subtracting 2006 actual revenue (urban only) from the 2007 actual revenue (includes both urban and rural).
“The monthly contracted collect costs and then subtracted from the revenue to calculate a net revenue or loss for the user pay garbage collection service.”
Councillor Rod Finnie pointed out that when user pay bags were introduced, there was a differential in cost, but this latest figure is quite high. He said those people who haul their own garbage to transfer stations pay only $1, and the 75 cents extra that the county charges was supposed to be covering the cost of pick-up.
County engineer Gord Ough said the 75 cents was never expected to cover the complete cost of garbage pick-up, but contribute a portion of the disposal costs.
Bob Wilson, the chairman of the solid waste services committee, said, “A dollar seventy-five doesn’t do enough for us. There’s should be more money in there to dispose at the landfill.”
Wilson has always argued for higher garbage bag costs because, he said, they let people know the true cost of waste disposal.
“I don’t believe user pay costs enough,” he said. “There should be a higher tipping fee.”
He explained “a good number of pirate [private haulers] pick up for $1.25 per bag.”
When they can dispose of it for $1, they make a profit.
“It harms our garbage pick-up system substantially,” Wilson said.
He added that the transfer station on Gerrie Road is too close to Elora and Fergus, making it convenient for people to use it for less than the cost of a county user pay bag.
Councillor Gord Tosh wondered if the county has any plans to deal with private haulers. He said in Rockwood, at $1.25 per bag, “Sunday night has as much [garbage out] as a regular [county] day.
“We need to address this, because there is a lot of it going on,” Tosh said.
Councillor Lou Maieron said his concerns and those of Wilson are similar, though they disagree on the solution. Maieron wanted to know the cost of transfer stations, and said if the county provides “equalized service, [the pirates] would go away. They are certainly filling up valuable landfill space with recyclables.”
He was referring to people putting recyclables into a bag for disposal by private haulers.
But councillor Lynda White pointed out that county council had passed a resolution that it would consider its user pay bag fees once it has concluded its rural pick-up project.
However, that same day, the county also approved extending that pilot project into 2008, and will decide its fate next October.
