It was begrudgingly backed by some directors the first go around and when it came back to the board for final approval, uncertainty gripped the board again.
“After some conversation I’ve had with some folks, I think I’d like to go with the bin size that Gibsons is using. It works for Gibsons,” said Roberts Creek director Andreas Tize at a recent Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) board meeting.
The size of food-waste containers the district would supply rural households has been one among many considerations directors have been mulling as they proceed with a new food-waste curbside collection program, expected to launch next year.
At a previous infrastructure committee meeting, directors initially voted in favour of a 46-litre bin with locking lid and wheels.
But that decision was questioned May 23, when Tize asked to revisit the matter. “The smaller bin size continues to incentive the people to actually do their own home composting,” said Tize of his rationale for opting for a smaller 23-litre bucket.
He said he voted in favour of the 46-litre container because the locking lid would keep wildlife out, but since Gibsons doesn’t have that issue, “the proof is in the pudding.”
David Croal, director of Gibsons, supported the idea, telling directors the smaller bins do let people “think small” and are less cumbersome.
But not everyone was convinced. After exploring whether all areas do need to have the same-sized bins – they don’t, but keeping bins consistent would be more cost efficient, according to staff – Sechelt director Darnelda Siegers raised the problem of pizza boxes.
“If you start with pizza boxes, for example, and you have a small bin, very quickly you fill up your bin,” she said, adding it’s something the District of Sechelt will have to confront as it looks to start its own food-waste pickup program.
West Howe Sound director Mark Hiltz said he’s seen the pizza box problem with his own eyes in Gibsons, an issue that wouldn’t happen with the larger bins, and which might allow room for other organic materials later on, such as green waste. For Hiltz, keeping with the staff recommendation was best.
It was Croal who sliced through the pizza argument, offering the opinion that even if pizza boxes can’t be stuffed into smaller containers, they’re still picked up by garbage collectors. “Unless you have pizza every night, it should not be a major issue,” he said.
With that issue resolved, chair Lori Pratt returned to the matter at hand – reducing waste.
She maintained her long-held position that smaller is better. “If you have a larger bucket you’re going to fill a larger bucket,” she said.
Tize’s final appeal: “Well, it works in Gibsons. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.”
His motion that the 23-litre bin, without wheels and without a manual lock, was defeated on a tie, with Tize and Pratt in favour and Hiltz and Elphinstone director Donna McMahon opposed.
