Published: May 23, 2009 12:00 PM Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star
Dumpsters are just a week away from being hauled out of downtown Vernon alleys, but that has some merchants angry and frustrated. As of June 1, garbage bins will be removed from the public portion of downtown alleys as a way of improving esthetics and public safety. But that means high-volume businesses will lose an easy way of disposing of waste. “I don’t know how it will impact us. No one has given me any answers,” said Cyle Hallborg, Surplus Herby’s manager. “They haven’t given any thought about the bigger businesses.” One option for Hallborg would be to move a dumpster to the front of his property. “It will take away parking and look like heck,” he said. Exempt from dumpster removal are restaurants because of the wet waste they create, and the owner of Simply Delicious claims that’s unfair. “We’re a grocery store. We have wet waste,” said Grant Frankiw, adding that storing garbage in his store for pickup will create health risks. “What do you want me to do with broken yogurt? You wouldn’t keep garbage in your kitchen.”
Also gone will be cardboard dumpsters in public alleys as the city initiates a Vernon-wide commercial recycling program three days a week.“On average, I produce 20 yards of cardboard waste a week. In other words, six to seven bins worth,” said Colin Scott, manager of the downtown Shoppers Drug Mart, in a letter to the city. “This will mean 100 to 120 bundles of cardboard if not more, stacked in my small back room and lane way come pick-up day. During heavy seasonal times — Christmas, Halloween, summer, Easter, etc. — this amount will double or triple.” Scott says it will take an employee 16 to 24 hours a week to cut and tape cardboard into stacks. “That is a $300 a week price tag on recycling.”And merchants who can place a cardboard dumpster on private land are also lashing out because they will still have to pay $20.53 a month for the recycling program.
“We will be forced to pay twice for our recycling services. Once to our service provider and also to the city on our utility bill,” states a form letter that some businesses have sent to city hall. City officials defend the removal of dumpsters in public alleys. “We evaluated what Kelowna does successfully and this is modeled on what happened there,” said Leon Gous, chief administrative officer. In terms of garbage, Gous says businesses contract out garbage collection on their own so they can have daily pick-up if they want. He also doesn’t believe that inside storage of non-food waste or recycling should be problematic for most businesses.“Most of the stuff is not items that will go rotten,” he said. Gous admits, though, that communications could be improved. “We’ve worked closely with the Downtown Vernon Association. Clearly both of us could have held a stakeholders’ meeting and got info out but we have been working closely with the group,” he said.
The DVA is currently looking at ways to resolve outstanding concerns from merchants. “We have sent recommendations to the city based on observations in Kelowna,” said president Ruth Hoyte. “There are kinks that need to be worked out.” But Hoyte insists there is still a need to get rid of dumpsters.“There have been dumpster fires and people living and doing nasty things around dumpsters,” she said.
Dumpster removal plan falls short Morning Star Editorial Published: May 23, 2009 12:00 PM
The concept of removing dumpsters from the public portion of downtown Vernon alleys makes sense as they provide criminals with a place to hide. They are also extremely unsightly. But while the city’s new initiative is valid, how much thought was actually put into implementation prior to its June 1 start? Primarily, restaurants were allowed to keep their dumpsters for the rest of the year so they can determine how to handle wet waste. But the city completely ignored grocery stores and speciality meat shops that also have food waste. Shouldn’t their interests have also been considered? Recycling dumpsters will also be removed as a city-wide curbside collection program begins. But recycling will only be collected three times a week so large-volume businesses could be over-run with cardboard and paper. In the case of the downtown Shoppers Drug Mart, it will have to find room for six to seven bins worth of cardboard a week. But beyond just the physical space, these paper products constitute a fire hazard. Has anyone consulted with the fire chief to see if he has any concerns about increased combustibles inside buildings?
Another issue that has also arisen is that those businesses with access to private land will be able to keep their dumpsters firmly in place. But they will also be forced by the city to pay $20.53 a month for the mandatory recycling collection service. That means they will pay for both the city program and their own dumpster, and during a recession, such a burden on business is unacceptable. One also has to wonder who will get the money paid out for curbside recycling not picked up three times a week — the contractor or the city? Some merchants have already suggested this could be a “tax grab.” In the end, the move towards getting rid of dumpsters is positive for the community, but there are significant shortcomings in the actual details.
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