A city standing committee wants to move garbage collection from alleyways to city curbs.
During the Environment, Transportation and Public Safety Meeting on Wednesday afternoon, a report was presented to the committee on how successful a pilot program was, that saw two target areas move their garbage from the alley to the front curb.
From mid-October to mid-December, the residents along the Victoria and Pelissier alley from Tecumseh Road West to Jackson Street, and the Church and Dougall alley from Tecumseh Road West to Wahketa were asked to make the switch.
By the end of the pilot all residents had followed through with moving their trash to the curb, and a time study showed it was more efficient from those collecting the garbage, shaving nearly seven minutes off the route for the Church and Dougall area.
A survey following the pilot program saw only 31 of 178 homes respond, but of those 31, 41 per cent were in support of the collection moving permanently to the curb, while 48 per cent were unsupportive, and 10 percent were indifferent.
The committee voted in favour to move the garbage collection to the front curb instead of the alley, however some councillors were opposed to the motion.
Renaldo Agostino, ward 3 councillor, put the motion forward and says it could be a cost saving option.
"It's also difficult because in a time when every penny counts, and we could look at savings or not only savings when it comes to property taxes, but also where we need to direct money to do better things to make our city better. And I know sometimes it's difficult to ask people to do a little bit extra to help your city, but to me that's the only thing we're looking at here."
Gary Kaschak, ward 8 councillor, was in favour of the motion and says everything would look very uniform.
"I think this is sort of a really good look moving forward on a regional type approach, where we're going to have pretty much the whole city getting their garbage collected out front. And I think that can only benefit our efforts here moving forward for the regional collection down the road. So, I think this is good, it's terrific money savings as well."
Mark McKenzie, ward 4 councillor, was opposed to the motion and says he's heard from residents who are concerned with the switch.
"And their fear is that, and we've talked about it at this committee numerous times, is that if we move the garbage out of the alleys, is the city then divesting themselves fully of the alleys? And are they going to continue to maintain the alleys? And I know that's been a conversation again many times here, and at council."
Fabio Costante, ward 2 councillor, was opposed to the motion and says alley collection helps with residential congestion.
"We have an inter city that is congested more and more everyday, we've got high dense residential houses and very narrow lot widths, and it makes it challenging for this type of pick-up. The alley is perfect for that. It releases congestion and it keeps the front clean while we can tuck away some of the garbage in the back."
31 per cent of the survey respondents also noted "a lot less" litter in the alley during that pilot period.
Administration stated that while the results of the survey and the time study indicate advantages and disadvantages to moving garbage out of alleys, these same results may not be seen in every alley.
There are approximately 219 alleys receiving some form of waste collection. Of these alleys 80 per cent only have garbage collection in the alley. The remaining 20 per cent of alley collection have all three streams collected in the alley, including garbage, recycle, and yard waste.
This report will move to city council for final approval at a later date.