The District of Port Hardy will be switching June 8 from bi-weekly garbage pick up service to weekly for the next five months, but that doesn’t neccessarily mean there will be additional services.
Instead of being allowed to put out two cans once a week (residents are currently allowed to put out two cans every two weeks), it will now be only one can a week and residents can pay $2.25 for an extra tag for another bag/can.
When asked to comment on the change in service, Chief Administrative Officer Allison McCarrick noted Port Hardy council had requested staff to “complete a second garbage survey upon requests they had from residents wanting garbage pick up weekly in the summer months due to the smell of keeping the garbage for two weeks.”
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According to McCarrick, the results of the survey indicated the majority of residents who completed the survey were supportive of the additional fee and preferred a pick up service of one can each week.
“The cost for the district to provide this service is the cost being incurred by the service contractor to perform the service,” McCarrick stated. “To provide two cans one week and one on the next week would have increased the costs even more due to the extra tipping fees that may have been applied by the Regional District of Mount Waddington where all of the district solid waste is disposed.”
Council made the decision after back and forth discussion on the survey results.
The cost for the weekly garbage pick up service is an additional $30.12 annually; this year there was a one month reduction due to the service starting in June rather than May due to COVID-19.
“We will review how successful this service is with a follow up survey so that council can review and make decisions whether to continue or not,” added McCarrick.
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