VICTORIA – The longstanding tradition of full backyard garbage pick-up could be coming to an end in Victoria.
The City of Victoria has launched its new proposals to change the way garbage is picked up in the city. The City will be mailing a survey to Victoria residents who will get to vote on three new options for garbage collection. The most popular option will be implemented in January 2013.
All three options include an exciting new green initiative. Kitchen scraps will now be collected from Victoria homes. This could reduce the amount of material going to the landfill by 30 per cent.
Victoria’s municipal workers are proud to be on the front line of making garbage pick-up day greener and CUPE Local 50 applauds the City in its efforts to get greener. However, they are disappointed that one of the new options isn’t the status quo.
None of the new options offer ‘backyard tote return’ and while this may seem like a small thing, it is an essential service to many residents. Curbside return could create a hardship and a safety risk for many.
“Full backyard service could continue to be provided for the same cost as ‘Option A’ ($229), this would ensure no resident felt forced to unsafely move their garbage tote,” said John Burrows, president of CUPE Local 50. “Our main concern is the health and safety of residents. City workers returning the totes to the backyard is the safest option.”
CUPE Local 50 reluctantly supports the most complete service offered which is ‘Option A’. This option would leave city crews to collect totes from the backyard but then leave empty totes on the curb. They are encouraging all residents to use the comments section on their survey to ask that the City include ‘backyard tote collection and backyard tote return’ as part of ‘Option A’.
Burrows notes that “the City will implement the option the community wants. If what the community wants is ‘backyard tote return’ they must tell the City that by writing a comment on their survey.”
