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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Coffee cups, take-out food containers and other miscellaneous garbage line Yellowknife streets for all to see, and that's why a refundable deposit fee placed on all takeout containers will help reduce the unsightly litter, says city councillor Paul Falvo.

Yousry Abdelmegid, owner of the Main Street Cafe, isn't in favour of a proposal by city councillor Paul Falvo, calling for a five cent levy on take out containers. - Sara Wilson/NNSL photo

"I'd like to see them treated as beverage containers with a refundable levy," said Falvo.

"Maybe a refundable nickel as a deposit."

Falvo has been active in clean-up programs for several years and believes a deposit would help pay to operate (and expand) the city's landfill.

According to Falvo, the deposit would also encourage coffee-lovers to use reusable cups and provide a financial incentive to return take-out containers. He said the city should establish some sort of facility similar to the Bottle Shop where residents return their empty beverage containers for a refund.

"You get a restaurant that goes through the effort of providing reusable cups and they don't get any reward for that. They have to clean it up themselves," said Falvo.

"In any coffee shop in Yellowknife, the default is a disposable cup, it's assumed that you want a disposable cup and you have to request to get a ceramic one. It should be the opposite.

"If it's on Kam Lake Road, people are probably throwing it out their windows, that would be my guess. So putting out garbage cans isn't going to do it."

While Falvo's idea is intended to deter residents from littering, the solution, according to one local business, is more consumer accountability. Margaret Pawluk, manager of Le Stock Pot and 23-year resident of Yellowknife, said adding a deposit on takeout containers won't change anything.

"No I wouldn't be in favour of charging extra for it," Margaret Pawluk.

"We probably would have no choice but to put it on to the consumer depending on how much the levy would be."

Pawluk does admit there is a problem, but believes the solution lies with the consumer, not the businesses.

"I see it all the time, people walking down the street at night with fast food and they just throw it on the ground. They don't look for a garbage container," Pawluk said. "It's the residents who are responsible, they have to have some responsibility in putting the garbage in the proper containers too."

Mayor Gord Van Tighem said the responsibility to keep the city clean lies with residents and businesses.

"It works both ways, there's pressure on the businesses to clean up in front of their place, especially those that provide take-out food," Van Tighem said.

David McCann a former city councillor, is another veteran of the cause, and believes education is the key to putting a stop to littering.

"I don't think there's a high priority put on littering as a problem, and granted, you can't be following every car to see if a coffee cup comes out it," McCann said.

He said signs should be posted throughout the city reminding residents to put their coffee cups in the garbage.

Not all businesses are taking a back seat to the problem, owners of Javaroma have taken a progressive step in picking up the trash, with a volunteer-based program through most parts of the year.

"Cleaning, it's important for all sorts of things. We do participate every year from April to September and we go out once a week and clean it up," Fadil Memedi, co-owner of Javaroma said.

"From the beginning to the end, it's all up to us."

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