Winnipeg, MB - The City continues its efforts to encourage more waste diversion.
The Winnipeg Public Service is seeking Council approval to introduce a minimum $15 charge for garbage disposal at the Brady Road Resource Management Facility following the opening of the 4R Winnipeg Depot. With this proposed change, the City hopes to encourage more recycling and recover costs for the operation of the Depots, a convenient one-stop shop where residents can drop off materials that can be recycled, composted or reused, rather than landfilled.
When the first Depot opens at Brady in the fall, residents will have more options to reduce and recycle, and keep more garbage out of the landfill, which will reduce harmful landfill gas. Residents will not pay for recycling materials dropped off at the 4R Winnipeg Depot at Brady Road. Customers will only have to pay to dispose of material that can't be recycled. The 4R Winnipeg Depots are expected to divert up to 10 percent of currently landfilled materials, or 10,000 tonnes annually.
Residents are accustomed to paying $11/load and can currently dispose of up to 500 kg of garbage for this flat rate. Under the proposed garbage disposal fee of $61/tonne with a $15 minimum, they would be able to dispose of up to 245 kg of garbage for $15, before the cost escalates based on weight of the load. Estimates show more than half of current customers would fall within the $15 fee range.
Residents will also experience improved customer service at the 4R Winnipeg Depot at Brady. The Depot will have easy access directly off of Brady Road and there will be a separation of commercial and residential vehicles. Weekend operating hours will be expanded to accommodate the higher traffic volumes. For convenience and safety, customers will drive through a smoother, paved facility with multiple drop-off areas instead of navigating to the landfill tipping face.
Customers who have recyclables will drive up to the appropriate drop off area, dispose of their recyclables in a bin and can exit the facility at multiple points. Customers who have garbage will be directed to the garbage disposal area and their vehicle will be weighed automatically as they enter. Upon exiting this area, residents will weigh out and pay the appropriate fee. See a diagram of the 4R Winnipeg Depot at Brady Road.
The new minimum garbage disposal fee is only slightly higher than the existing small load fee (which has not increased since 2012), and rates are comparable to other similar jurisdictions. The provincial Waste Reduction and Recycling Support levy ($10/tonne of garbage disposed), which the City must charge, is included in the current tipping fee and is part of the new proposed minimum fee.
A report recommending the new garbage disposal fee at the 4R Winnipeg Depot to be located at the Brady Road Resource Management Facility will be first considered by the Standing Policy Committee on Infrastructure Renewal and Public Works on June 23.
Visit City of Winnipeg - 4R Winnipeg Depots for further details about the Depots.