Downtown dumpsters set to dive

The dingy dumpsters clogging up downtown laneways may be on their way out.
Accused of being a magnet for graffiti artists, clogging up traffic flows and detracting from the overall appeal of downtown, a proposed pilot project to oust the bulky trash receptacles on 100 block of 7 Ave. SW, the 800 block of 7 Ave. SW and the 200 block of 8 Ave. SW has been set aside, said Ward 7 Ald. Druh Farrell, who initiated the move to tidy up downtown laneways last November.
In a report that will be tabled at Wednesday’s utilities and environment meeting, Waste Management and BFI, which account for 80 per cent of the downtown commercial trash collection, both panned the pilot project as financially unfeasible and instead proposed a project of their own toward a new collection method that would involve smaller plastic, wheeled receptacles, 90-200 litres, and more frequent pickups.
Their plan would take a year to institute, and it’s one that the city’s aldermen are on-side with now that the proposed pilot project has been shot down, Farrell said.
Following the lead of cities such as Vancouver and Seattle makes environmental sense, Farrell said, as most of the waste found in dumpsters is actually recyclable material like paper and plastic.
“We’ve kind of allowed our laneways to deteriorate,” Farrell said.
“You have litter overflowing, people routing through dumpsters, which could be a safety hazard, and we just have to find better ways to collect our garbage downtown and, as a society, start looking at waste differently.”
–neil.mackinnon@metronews.ca