No one wants city cigarette receptacles
Wall-mounted butt disposal containers offered at $250 a pop
Jessica Davey-Quantick
Northern News Services
Wednesday, August 16, 2017
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The city is offering businesses the chance to get in on a bulk order of cigarette butt receptacles, but so far, nobody is biting.
Dave Hurley, facilities manager for the city, says the existing cigarette butt receptacles mounted around town have been well used. But businesses seem uninterested in purchasing their own bins through the city. - Jessica Davey-Quantick/NNSL photo |
This is according to Dave Hurley, facilities manager with the city.
The containers are the same as the 45 the city purchased earlier this year and placed in public places.
Jason Perrino, owner of Twist & Shout, said the $250 receptacles aren't much of a steal when he can just use what he already has and sweep the sidewalk every day.
"It's not really a deal at all, and number two it requires a key and those things always get lost," he said, adding he's purchased similar bins for the same price privately, and those are working fine.
Toni Enns, manager at The Raven Pub, agrees. She said she sweeps every day to keep her sidewalk clear but doesn't want to spent $250 for something that she feels will just get stolen.
"I've tried everything over the years and it goes missing," she said. "I just keep spending money and it's just a game of silly bugger, you know what I mean?"
She said she's hopeful the new sobering centre will "mellow things out" downtown and maybe leave her buckets unmolested in the future.
Terry Hartwright, general manager of the Black Knight Pub, has his own solution to the case of the vanishing bucket.
"We just converted a couple of old kegs out front," he said. "They have a removable top we empty on a daily basis."
The Aug. 13 deadline came and went with no takers stepping forward, according to Hurley.
"If you walk around certain parts of the downtown and certain areas, you'll see cigarette butts on the ground," he said. "It's the way it is, unfortunately."
He said the ones already around town have been well used.
Yellowknifer previously reported that cigarette-butt litterers could face fine of between $200 and $500.
