South Frontenac Wastes an Opportunity

Feb 03, 2017

A number of well-meaning and reasonable letters have come in to the paper over the last few months about the decision South Frontenac Council made to change the way they charge residents for waste management. Instead of charging $125 per household as had been the practice, the cost of waste management is now being folded in with all other costs and applied to the tax rate. This makes the tax system simpler,  but it shifts the burden of paying for waste management to the higher valued properties.

Owners of a home valued $100,000, if there are any left in South Frontenac at that value, used to pay the same amount for waste management as owners of homes valued at $400,000. Now they are paying 25% as much. Since property values do not determine how much garbage people throw in the dump, opponents of the change say it is unfair, and contrary to the idea of user pay for waste management services.

In fact the impact on most ratepayers will be minimal, because the closer their property value is to the norm in the township the less the change will impact them. But those who argue that owners of waterfront properties are being over-burdened once again by a tax system that is skewed against them do have a point.

But the real point to make is that waste management should indeed have a large user pay element and South Frontenac continues to miss the mark by continuing to supply 50 free bag tags to residents. When the township eliminated the $125 charge, which was really a fee of $2.50 for each bag tag, they did not take the logical step of ending the free bag tag program. In most other townships there are no free bag tags, in fact in many cases there are no tags anymore either. The townships sell clear garbage bags with the township logo printed on them for a price, $1 or $2 and not only must those bags be used for waste, they can only be used for true waste. The clear bag reveals when recyclables are in the bag and dump attendants or roadside garbage pickup workers are expected to refuse those bags.

South Frontenac residents may not want to see their garbage bags still sitting on the curb in front of their house after garbage pickup day because they contained cans or plastic bottles, but if that happened on the next week those items would be certainly be in the recycling bin, and would be picked up for free. If the township is serious about diverting waste and extending the life of its landfill sites, the dual impact of making residents pay directly for every bit of waste that goes into landfill and blocking them from being lazy and slipping recyclables into the waste cycle are the best way to do that.

Clear bags always raise an uproar when they are introduced, but then people get used to them, and they make a difference.

The alternate solution to clear bags is to up the financial incentive to divert waste. Perhaps if the bag tags cost $5 each then it will make people think twice about paying to dump a plastic bottle instead of placing it in a blue box and shipping it off for free.

No one likes buying bag tags or clear bags from the township, but it is not an overwhelming burden. It is a way to encourage recycling and make those who produce more garbage pay for the privilege of producing garbage. Anyone can alter the way they handle waste in their own home, and minimise how much goes in the waste site.

Those residents who do not use their 50 bags each year won't have to pay for them anymore and those who use more will pay more.

The only major drawback is that it can be a burden on the young in favour of the old as larger households produce more waste, but since there are opportunities to minimise waste that anyone can take advantage of if they make an effort. Even a family with young kids can make changes, and with a bit of planning, keep their garbage to under a bag a week if they compost and practice diversion.

Waste management will continue to cost more than a $2 bag tag or clear bag will ever cover, but South Frontenac Council missed an opportunity when they reformed the way it is paid for by residents.

They knew people would be upset, and they might as well have gone all the way and upset people once. Now, they will only cause more upset when they decide to stop supplying bag tags at all, which is the next logical step