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The toll was among four recommendations city administrators presented Monday to council for a user-pay system aimed at eliminating subsidies on garbage removal.
 Dillon Consultants' Colin Joyal (left), city landfill manager Bruce Underhay, public works director Greg Kehoe, and Ecology North member Doug Ritchie show off a garbage pail purchased from Canadian Tire. According to Kehoe, the 77-litre pail is the standard garbage can size across the country.
Annual cost of garbage pick-up: Single-family units Multi-family units Commercial 1 (using bins with 2, 4, or 6 cubic yard capacity): Commercial 2 (using large, roll-on/roll-off bins): |
There was little public support for a gate toll when council first discussed it in January, but Mayor Gord Van Tighem said its inclusion in the latest batch of recommendations was simply intended to generate more discussion.
A public forum on solid waste is scheduled for April 28.
Also on the list is a recommendation to limit households to three pails of garbage a week by Jan. 1, 2006, and down to two a week a year after that.
The monthly $11 solid waste levy recently passed by city council would remain, but any additional pails of garbage left at the curbside will cost households an extra $1 each.
The other two recommendations call for the city to cut multi-family units and commercial business out of its contract for garbage pick-up with Kavanaugh Brothers.
Under the proposal, apartment and business owners would have to make their own arrangements for garbage pick-up.
And instead of rates based on the size of the commercial building, or the number of units within an apartment or townhouse complex, City Hall wants to charge businesses and multi-family units a flat-rate of $65 per tonne for garbage brought to the dump, except for demolition waste and cardboard.
Public works director Greg Kehoe said part of the idea is to bring equity to its billing system, which is heavily subsidized by residential users. They also want people to think about what they're throwing out, he said.
"User-pay is revenue-neutral, there's not any increased revenue expected," said Kehoe.
"Right now, it's unfair to single-family units. It's also unfair for commercial businesses. Some are paying very little and some are paying a lot."
Kehoe said single-family-units - accounting for $570,768 collected under the solid waste levy every year - are paying more than double what it costs to remove their garbage.
He said Yellowknife businesses, meanwhile, are contributing about $800,000 - about $300,000 less than what it costs to take away their garbage per year.
If the recommendations are accepted by council, Kehoe said the monthly solid waste levy could drop from $11 to $8 or $9 within three years.
More squeamish
Some councillors at Monday's committee meeting were notably more squeamish about the gate fee proposal than they were the first time around.
During Monday's committee meeting, Coun. Kevin O'Reilly suggested people might be less inclined to "get their backs up" had the recommendations been delivered as "options" instead.
Kehoe said his department can "soften" the information brochure once it comes forward.
Coun. Wendy Bisaro wondered if the size of the household garbage pails recommended by the city were big enough. "I've never seen one that small."
Kehoe said the 77-litre pail he had on display from Canadian Tire is a standard size, and the same volume as a regular aluminum garbage can.
He later said people won't necessarily have to buy new garbage pails if the recommendations are accepted. He said residents can use 77-litre garbage bags if they have an enclosed curbside box.
Doug Ritchie, representing Ecology North, was also at the meeting.
He said he still isn't quite sure where to stand on the gate fee proposal, but said he is pleased by the recommendations overall.
"The literature I've looked at shows about a 16 per cent improvement in the diversion rate when you introduce a user-pay system," said Ritchie.
"We think it's definitely a step in the right direction."
Yellowknifer columnist and gate fee opponent Walt Humphries, however, said it seems like every proposal the city makes is towards restricting public access to the dump.
"They're trying to wear us out is what they're doing," said Humphries.
"Little by little they keep closing the dump off."
