Gibsons council is going to consider what to do about organic waste collection at a special committee meeting Nov. 16.
The Town put out a call for companies interested in taking on the project earlier this year and had only one response.
Grayco Ventures, which handles garbage collection in Gibsons and organics pickup in parts of Sechelt, proposed a system that would cost about $184.45 per household per year in the first year, then $93.20 after that.
The Nov. 16 meeting follows a community dialogue session Oct. 25, which was the subject of a report from Coun. Silas White earlier this week. White said one of the things councillors learned during the dialogue was that “the level of interest, and will to act, is extremely high in regard to organics diversion,” but that universal curbside organics pickup may not be the way the Town should go.
Mayor Wayne Rowe said with the Sunshine Coast Regional District ready to consider banning organics from the landfill, “we have an obligation to make sure we have something in place for our residents.”
Chief administrative officer Emanuel Machado told councillors they are facing time constraints because the current garbage collection contract is coming up for renewal in early 2018, which means tender packages should go out next month. “We will need to know from council whether that contract would include every-other-week [garbage pickup] and what we do for the other week that we don’t show up in terms of garbage and/or organics.”
Last month, a representative with Ecosafe Zerowaste, one of Grayco’s partners in the bid, briefed councillors on the system it’s proposing.
Phil Ragan, who also worked with Grayco on the organics collection pilot project in Sechelt, said although Sechelt made a few changes to what his firm was recommending, the Sechelt program has been very successful.
“We believe that we will be able to solve a lot of the problems and complaints that you’d get back relative to odour, insects and animals,” he said. “The bear problem is not a problem with this particular system.”
