The issue of garbage pickup in Whistler resurfaced recently with council narrowly passing a motion to revisit possible solutions for local residents who don’t have vehicles to take their garbage to the two existing compactor sites.
The lack of easy access to bear-proof garbage disposal facilities is listed as a top priority in Whistler’s Human-Bear Conflict Management Plan, which council adopted at its June 15 meeting.
While council has discussed various pilot projects and possible neighbourhood waste collection options in the past, the cost has always been deemed too high.
Councillor Eckhard Zeidler raised the issue at the June 15 meeting, asking Heather Beresford, the municipality’s environmental stewardship manager, for some reassurance that finding a solution is on the work plan.
When Beresford replied that it’s not on the work plan for this year but a priority for the five-year conflict management plan implementation period, Councillor Ralph Forsyth made a motion that recommendations on how to solve the issue be brought to council within the next six months.
Forsyth’s motion was carried in a 4-3 vote with Mayor Ken Melamed and Councillors Grant Lamont and Chris Quinlan opposed.
While Quinlan and Lamont both suggested going to the community for possible trash collection ideas, Melamed said he doesn’t see the connection between garbage pickup and bear conflicts. Melamed also said the issue has been considered in the past and the cost of a neighbourhood pickup program, which he remembered being estimated at $1 million, is too high.
According to an April 2008 staff report written by Beresford, a one-year pilot project that would see one bear-proof garbage and recycling bin rotated between three Whistler neighbourhoods would cost about $83,000.
On May 15, Zeidler recalled that back in 2008 when the report came before council, Melamed asked if the council of the day would be willing to implement a property tax increase to pay for the pilot project. Zeidler said even at $150,000, approving one year of the rotating bin system would mean a tax increase of 0.03 per cent.
“I am prepared to implement a tax increase of 0.03 per cent to move forward a pilot project,” Zeidler said.
On Tuesday (June 29), Beresford said council’s motion to see some ideas for garbage collection will be on the agenda for the Whistler Bear Working Group’s next meeting in July.
With the municipality working to encourage people to get out of their cars and use other forms of transportation, the lack of neighbourhood garbage pickup will possibly affect even more people in the community, she said.
The Bear Working Group has been looking for solutions for the past couple of years, Beresford said. There may be a future opportunity for citizens to weigh in with their thoughts and ideas, she added.
Sylvia Dolson, executive director of the Get Bear Smart Society and a member of the Bear Working Group, said she thinks council’s motion is “great.”
“We need to come up with a solution,” she said.
Dolson said she would still like to see the idea of rotating bins given a try. Carney’s Waste Systems is working on a user-friendly bear-proof bin that would allow for garbage disposal, recycling and composting — a system that would also help Whistler achieve its goals for zero waste, she said.
Providing bins in Whistler’s neighbourhoods would help reduce property damage from bears breaking into homes and sheds and lead to a safer environment for both people and bears, Dolson said.
Editor's Note: For further information regarding human bear conflict management plans click here... and for further information regarding waste management, click here...
