WATCH ABOVE: Homeowners looking to downsize their garbage bins after an increase in the city’s solid waste fees will now have to wait a little longer for delivery. Mark McAllister reports.
TORONTO – Homeowners looking to downsize their garbage bins after an increase in the city’s solid waste fees now have to wait longer for delivery.
There’s a two-week backlog after requests for bins went up by four times the normal amount in March.
During an average month, the City of Toronto receives approximately 1,800 service requests for recycling and garbage bin exchanges. That number was approximately 7,200 last month.
The number of garbage bin exchanges has been higher than requests to exchange blue bins since the start of December 2014.
A recorded message regarding the delay can be heard when residents call 311 to make a request.
“Customers who have placed a service request for a new garbage, recycling or green bin or for the exchange of a bin and you’re calling today for a status update, please be advised that we are currently experiencing a two week delay on all bin requests.”
The number of request coincides with a 3% increase in annual rates for solid waste in 2015.
After an annual rebate for single family residential homes is applied, the cost of a small garbage bin is $10.63, a medium bin is $88.73 and a large bin is $247.39.
“We are as the city of Toronto absolutely encouraging people to downsize their bins,” public works chair Jaye Robinson said. “It’s very costly to have the bigger bins.”
City officials said that 65 per cent of what residents put into garbage could be put elsewhere.
A new staff report recommends the city replace the existing 46.5 litre green bins with new ones more than twice the size. The new design would also feature a raccoon-resistant locking lid and larger wheels for better mobility.
An expanded list of plastic materials that residents can recycle would come into effect in June as well.
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