80 pounds of Not Garbage???
Ron Bolin: August 4, 2017
Those who have paid attention to the City of Nanaimo’s announcements are aware that the City is introducing a new solid waste collection program which is very similar to the existing one in its schedule, but is very different in its devices and it costs. The program is called “Sort Toss Roll”, and if you haven’t yet paid attention go to:
and read all about it. It is apparently coming soon to your neighbourhood in Central Nanaimo and to North and South Nanaimo next year.
The crux of the change is that instead of using plastic bags weighing ounces for your garbage and recycling, and a small bin for your organic waste, we will be using three large and robust plastic bins weighing a total of 36 kg (nearly 80 lbs.) and large enough to hold your teenage children… Visit the site shown in the above City web page for locations where the bins can currently be seen and take a look.
Nanaimo’s Collection Services have been presented by the City in the following:
An examination of this document allows one to determine that in 2013 Nanaimo had 26,000 homes subject to this City service and 10,600 tons of waste was collected. This leads to an estimate of .41 tons (about 820 lbs) of waste collected each year from each household – or about 15.8 lbs/week per household served. This implies that the average household will be moving about 95.8 lbs of waste per week from their door to the curb and 80 lbs. back, i.e. 15.8 lbs of waste plus 80 lbs of containers.
If all of Nanaimo were flat, and if all of Nanaimo had curbs, and if parking on the street were not permitted, given the wheels on the bins, this might be a manageable, if expensive, proposition. (We are on the hook for capital expenditures of around $7.5 million dollars for all new trucks (apparently now purchased) and all new bins (apparently still under investigation). I don’t believe that the extra bags for garbage ($3) or for recycling (free) which one can now use will be available in any form under the new waste regime, and perhaps given the new large bin sizes they won’t be needed.
But much of Nanaimo is not level, much of Nanaimo is not served with sidewalks or curbs, and parking is free on most of our streets…. In addition, Nanaimo’s demographic is rapidly aging. So how have these conditions been factored in to this new program and when was it presented at a public meeting of Council for discussion, presentations from delegations, and for adoption in an open meeting?
Another name for this project is the Automated Residential Waste Collection System… And on the City end it is automated… All of our 8 new trucks are fitted out with a mechanical arm which can, under the guidance of the driver, reach out, pick up the bins as required and dump them into the appropriate hopper on the truck. No human touch required. This explains the need for large, robust and heavy duty bins as the machine arms are neither as facile nor as deliberate as are those of a human. It is proposed that this will increase the job satisfaction of City workers and reduce workplace strains which can save some money in WorksafeBC expenses.
But the project involves no automation on the resident end and in fact makes new demands of householders who must -at least if they live in homes which are located above or below the street grade and/or live along narrow roads with no curbs or sidewalks and/or have many who park along their street and/or all or several of these conditions- struggle to meet the demands of this technology and the 2 way 80 lbs per waste cycle which it imposes. For these citizens and for those who may be further encumbered by age or disability this will not improve the utility of the waste collection system, despite its increased costs. Quite the contrary. I anticipate that the overall system costs of waste removal will rise significantly as injuries migrate from city workers to the public at large as they struggle to get their heavy bins on wheels up and down driveways from sloped to steep, particularly in inclement weather where the surface can be slick with water, snow or ice. I also believe that the addition of some 80 lbs per cycle to the mandated waste collection program could lead to the City incurring liability for accidents that may arise from this change…
And speaking of costs, see the document prepared by the City which discusses the costs of the new program.
This document shows that as of Jan 1 of this year, the rate for solid waste collection per household was $102.75. As of July 1 of this year the rate rose to $118.04. In 2018 the rate will rise to $169.00!!! In 2019 it will go to $131.00 and is expected to stay there for a number of years… No matter how you slice it, this is an inordinate percentage increase for the service of waste collection. Watch your City utility bills.
How did this program with its $7.5 million dollar budget get this far on nothing more than a couple of Staff presentations and an In-Camera meeting while consistently refraining from bringing it to an open meeting of Council? That the people most affected by this change should not have been allowed to speak to it as a delegation in an open meeting (my request to be a delegation when the matter came to an open meeting was repeatedly postponed and has never happened). Meanwhile why the CUPE union representative was allowed to act as a delegate on the subject at the March 27 In-Camera meeting where funding for the program was apparently passed is a mystery about which the City has thus far not informed me.
The In-Camera minutes which were released at the end of last week:
see pp 219 ff for the motion, delegation list, and vote.
See pp 161ff if you wish to read the full report.
The relevant motions and the vote are as follows:
“06517 It was moved and seconded that Council consider the Automated Solid Waste Collection Report prior to considering motion to do with the Nanaimo Port Authority presentation. The motion carried.
- Lindsay vacated the Boardroom at 9:12 p.m.
- Gurrie entered the Boardroom at 9:12 p.m.
(b) Automated Solid Waste Collection Delegation: 1. Blaine Gurrie, CUPE Local 401 President, spoke regarding Automated Solid Waste Collection. 06617
It was moved and seconded that Council receive the delegation from Blaine Gurrie, CUPE Local 401 President, regarding Automated Solid Waste Collection. The motion carried unanimously.
- Gurrie vacated the Boardroom at 9:14 p.m.
- Gurrie vacated the Boardroom at 9:20 p.m.
06717 It was moved and seconded that Council selects option A, plus the inclusion of yard waste, and approves implementation of in-house automated solid waste collection services for the City in 2017 as follows: Option A: A City-owned and operated service with weekly collection of organics and bi-weekly collection of garbage and recycling utilizing an automated fleet of 8 trucks. The City owns and operates all assets associated with the service. Capital Investment: $7.4 million Initial User rate (year one): $146 User rate-post implementation: $80 Yard waste: There is an option to include yard waste with this service option. Initial user rate increases to $169 and post implementation rate decreases to $100. There is no increase to capital cost. The motion carried. Opposed: Councillors Fuller, Hong and Kipp”
With regard to the vote, Councillors Pratt and Thorpe were both missing from the meeting. This means that the motion was passed 4 to 3 by Mayor McKay and Councillors Brennan, Bestwick and Yoachim. Due to their absence, either Councillor Pratt or Thorpe could have demanded a repeat vote on the issue if they so desired… They apparently did not.
And so we find ourselves waiting to bear the added expense and the added problems which this “solution” gives rise to while we wait to hear how this $7.5 million dollar project has been able to proceed without the benefit of public discussion, let alone public agreement.
If you haven’t already done so, take a look at the bins, take a look at the environment in which you will be expected to shuffle them to the street and back, and let us all know how you feel about this program and the way in which it has been brought about….
I very much look forward to hearing your thoughts on this $7.5 million dollar project and how you see it assisting in your un-automated end of the waste collection process… Ron
Posts and Comments on Nanaimo Governance 
From the point of view of my personal household: I am 1 person living in a suite with 3 other units in the building. This is a large, old style house on a regular city lot. It is set down from the street by 5 cement stairs. There is a well used sidewalk out front, and a street that is always full of parked vehicles. Currently, I put my green bin out when it is stinky, as it is rarely full. I put my garbage can out maybe once a month, and same for my recycle.
Nowhere on this property is there a designated “storage area” where 12 (4 suites x 3 bins) large bins will go. Mine will have to sit along the fence just off my deck. In order to handle the weight, I will have to put them out less than full, which is okay as they would take months to fill. Then will I put them on the sidewalk, or the street? Either way they will seriously impede either walkers or parkers.
I asked my friend, a household of 4 living in a single family house, if their green bin is big enough now for their week’s compost. She said yes, and by the end of the week it is stinky and hard to clean. The larger ones will be even harder to clean, and far more stinky if left till they fill up.
The only way I could see them working is if they were like the rural mail super boxes. We would take our stuff to the corner and put it in the large bins for a single pick up. But the reasons this would not work are many, and not hard to think of. Who wants to walk a block with their garbage? If we’d never had it any better, we might not mind, but we have.
I also wonder if jobs will be lost. Will there be only one operator? As for worker injuries, there is already a weight limit. If this is still too heavy, it could be lowered. Maybe 2 smaller cans could be allowed, if needed.
I also wonder how the contents will be monitored. Now, if we put in a can of paint or some other not-okay item, the human who dumps it can see, and refuse to take it. How will this be monitored? And how will they know if recyclables are in the garbage?
And my biggest question is WHY?
I don’t believe our City Council cares one iota about what the citizens of Nanaimo want or would prefer. If it sounds grand and is expensive, they buy into it. It is exhausting to think about the money that has been wasted and will obviously continue to be wasted on projects that do not need to be done. Does anyone on the council know how to research a project or say no when logic dictates? Personally, I am elderly and there is no way I would be able to manipulate 80 pounds of Not Garbage!
Good morning Ron,
As always this is a great piece!
I have left a comment but am unable to send it because Iâm not a word press subscriber. Can you fix this?
Thanks Dorothy
I am very upset about how this project was (I was going to say rolled out but it’s more like) thrown at us. I get the part about the injuries to the workers and yes something needed to be done to mitigate that. However shifting those potential injuries onto the residents is clearly not the way to go not to mention the huge increase in fees. I suspect that is why this issue was not allowed to be brought into an open meeting for delegations like yourself Ron, who would surely ask hard questions they didn’t have answers to. We pesky citizens would be asking pesky questions and wanting logical answers. When I was down at the Canada Day celebrations at Maffeo Sutton the City had a few stations set up about the Sort Toss Roll program complete with the bins, pretty pamphlets and folks there to answer questions. They even invited people to try out the bins and see for themselves how easy they were to maneuver. Mind you they were empty and on mowed grass, groan! Certainly not a real representation of what it would be like in reality. When I ask that pesky question about how the elderly, disabled and other people with challenges would get these monster bins to the curb and especially those who lived on a steep hill, the answer was – those people could call City hall and inform them about their situation and they would make special arrangements to have the driver come and fetch and return the bins. Wow, I thought, this type of situation could very well involve a lot of people in Nanaimo given our City’s demographic and landscape. How would that be efficient?? Interesting name for the program Sort Toss Roll – We, the citizens Sort – They Toss – We Roll – I can see this is not going to end well for us !!!
Dorothy Houghton
A small question. Perhaps it is published somewhere but what is the current cost incurred by the city because of injuries?
This following request was sent to Council last evening. While it is true that passage at the Finance and Audit Committee is supposed only to send the motion on to a regualr meeting of Council, it should be noted that the membership of the in-camera meeting, the F & A Committee and the regular Council are the same…
Mayor McKay, Councillors, CAO Samra:
I see from the agenda for the August 10, 2017, meeting of the Finance and Audit Committee tomorrow morning, that you will be asked to approve “the borrowing of up to $6,200,000 through the Equipment Financing Program for implementation of automated solid waste collection.”
I ask that you postpone this decision to a Regular Council Meeting when the agenda has been given full time for public scrutiny and at a time of day and place when the public who will be asked to pay the bill for this equipment as well as its repercussions can speak to it…. Or that you simply defeat it.
I remind you that the motion to introduce this option was made on March 27 of this year in an In-Camera meeting where is was passed by a bare majority of Council (Councillors McKay, Brennan, Bestwick and Yeochim) with Councillors Pratt and Thorpe absent, and Councillors Fuller, Hong and Kipp opposed.
While CUPE was permitted a delegation at that meeting, citizens have not been afforded a similar opportunity.
Please proceed only when the public has had an opportunity to speak on this costly issue and its possible negative consequences for the public and the City.
Thank you for your consideration.
Ron Bolin
Nanaimo
The addendum for Monday’s Council meeting which came out yesterday carries the following addition:
“2. Add – Finance and Audit Committee 2017-AUG-10
To be introduced by Councillor Yoachim.
It was moved and seconded that the Finance and Audit Committee
recommend that Council approves the borrowing of up to $6,200,000
through the Equipment Financing Program for implementation of
automated solid waste collection.”
Who needs to connect with the public on such a matter when Council knows best without asking??
If you want to have your say, you’ll have to ask a Council member to let you do it. The addendum comes out on Friday afternoon, while the last time to ask to be a delegate is at 11am… We have a Mayor and eight Councillors. Ask one or more of them to let you be a delegation to present your views on the issue and the $7.5 million dollar expenditure of your tax money before they vote….
This plan makes all our current,home-owners, garbage bins redundant,ie “garbage”?? They are not cheap to buy. Also,can we not sell our current smaller green bins to a city that is just starting a green bin program? We must have 30 thousand of them out there in use.