Green Action Centre is presenting at Winnipeg city council’s Standing Policy Committee on Infrastructure Renewal and Public Works on Monday, October 3rd regarding the Public Works recommendations on the Garbage and Recycling Master Plan. Green Action Centre welcomes the approval of the Comprehensive Integrated Waste Management Strategy, but with a recognition that the current proposal falls short of comprehensiveness and that several improvements are needed for the plan to realize its potential.
The City’s proposed plan offers many important suggestions for increasing recycling and reducing waste in Winnipeg. Winnipeg currently has one of the lowest recycling rates of major cities in Canada. Planned initiatives for compost collection are essential if Winnipeg is to reach its goal of 50 percent waste diversion.
One of Green Action Centre’s proposed amendments includes instituting a graduated fee structure with options for households with reduced waste to see the benefit of lower collection charges. In Toronto, a similar system gives households options for different sized garbage carts, with the smallest size giving residents a refund back on their tax bill at the end of the year. Such a system would be fairer, increase incentives for waste reduction, and would increase support for the program compared to the proposed flat $50 collection fee.
Green Action Centre is a non-profit environmental organization based in Winnipeg providing solutions and policy options towards a greener Manitoba.
