City council must take a bold approach to future waste management strategy

There have been quite a few decisions that all three levels of government have made in my lifetime that seem to have been made without any consideration for the long-term strategic goals of our society. And while I could fill this entire paper with examples and analysis, unfortunately, the editor does not afford me that kind of space.

I will, however, concentrate on the largest decision facing committee and council this spring, and it is a portion of the Solid Waste Master Plan.

While decisions should and could have been made decades ago, the responsibility now lies with us. This is a responsibility I take very seriously.

So where do we go from here? Staff are proposing a solution that has only worked well in small geographic areas – limiting the items to be picked up at the curb of singlefamily dwellings to the arbitrary baseline amount of tags provided as included in property taxes with an option to supplement the number with additional cost to the household.

While on the face of it this may seem fair, it unduly punishes large or multi-generation homes, and only addresses the waste of predominantly suburban and rural residences.

Decisions on how to handle multi-residential buildings are to come later this fall.

This solution will only prolong the life of the landfill, at most, four years. This is not a progressive solution. Families should not be punished for how producers package consumer items. Absent of a complete plan, with a long-term solution, this is an incredibly costly and punitive proposal – one that does not address the core issue.

The world does not operate in four year cycles. Policymakers need to start acting and making decisions with future generations in mind. Ottawa must be bold and consider waste-to-energy and other technologies that will benefit future generations, generating cost savings and lowering environmental impact, not kick the can down the road for a later date. The longer we wait, the more costly the outcome.