Editor, The News:
Re: ‘We don’t need weekly pickup’ (Letters, April 22).
I applaud Isabella Beane with her straight forward reasoning with regards to the lack of waste management attitude displayed by our local government elected officials.
Imagine the shock of new home owners here and they discover they must either contract their waste pick-up themselves, or wait in lineups at the Albion transfer station, only to pay $20 minimum on weekends.
Let’s have a public forum on this matter so that our leaders actually hear from not just single e-mails, but the community as a whole.
Maybe a petition of our citizens’ signatures could be submitted.
We don’t want to hear from the corporate parties who have only a monetary interest in our community.
M. Murphy
Maple Ridge
What they say
Editor, The News:
The dumping fees in Maple Ridge have been increased to $15, with the hope we recycle more.
The truth is we can not recycle everything at this time so we need to throw some garbage into the dump.
The reality is, if I have eight bags of garbage, it cost me $15. If I recycle it down to one small bag of garbage, it cost me $15.
If you want us to recycle, you make everything recyclable or allow one small bag for $1. This would reduce the waste and reduce costs.
As it is, the dump fee is a tax grab.
This is the same logic as the carbon tax. It is meant to reduce the amount of carbon we put into the atmosphere by reducing the cars on the road. The truth is, the carbon tax is given back as an income tax deduction.
The more money you make, the more you get back.
The government then spends billions on improving bridges and roads to allow more cars. Then it increases the cost of rapid transit to where it easier to take your car.
It would have made sense if the carbon tax went to transit and not to reduce income tax. This would have been the only way to reduce carbon into the atmosphere.
Gary Fowle
Maple Ridge
Fine with recycling station
Editor, The News:
By the time you add three, four or more municipal employees to the process to manage and administer the waste collection process, and with the constant increase in the cost of those employees for benefits and pensions, the cost will become another huge burden that the taxpayers of Maple Ridge will have to fork out for.
We are doing just great with our recycling yard and transfer station on River Road.
I go there two to three times a month, sort my garbage in to separate bins through the weeks before I go and drop it off.
The cost of waste dumping has gone up in recent weeks by 50 per cent. Thank goodness I put most stuff in the recycling area.
Who approves price hikes of 50 per cent, by the way?
The recycling depot also provides work for some good folks who are in need of the work.
Great process and one to be proud of.
J. Allner
Maple Ridge
Down this road
Editor, The News:
So Maple Ridge council is considering garbage pickup again. Good.
We’ve lived in a few cities and all others had city-run pickup that was quite satisfactory.
I think it is time we moved in that direction. There are concerns, as raised in your last edition, but I believe all can be addressed. This is a progressive rather than regressive move.
The simplest route might be to request bids from waste management companies to provide the service, pay them and charge the individual homeowners the appropriate amount from taxes. It seems unlikely that the companies already providing the service would not be willing and able to take it on for the same or hopefully less money, if necessary rates could be adjusted according to property taxes or some other metric to ensure fairness.
If somebody objects and wants to remove their own waste, maybe they could opt out after providing slips from the waste site to make sure they aren’t just dumping illegally. I think there are other systems that would work, but the conversation is well worth doing and I suspect many would prefer going down this road.
Paul Gregory
Maple Ridge
