Clear Bag Update

The results are in. They have been carefully analyzed, weighed, debated, agonized over, and discussed some more. Bottom line is we won’t be pursuing a clear garbage bag bylaw at this time. Many of you will be elated. As you told me in the survey and at the town hall meeting: you didn’t see the point, saw no personal benefit, believe you are already a good recycler, consider it an invasion of privacy, an insult, a lack of trust in you to be doing the right thing. Fair enough. But I have to conclude it’s my failing for not being clear enough about the objective, nor having the time and resources to do it properly.

I say that because many of you think it’s a great idea, and are disappointed that I’m not recommending it going forward. You were supportive from the beginning, learned more about what is recyclable, and made adjustments to how you managed household waste. Yes it was a pain to change your routine, but once you got into the groove of doing things differently, it wasn’t too bad. And as you explained, you feel a moral obligation to try a little harder at recycling, to show that you have nothing to hide, and to more broadly rethink your decisions as a consumer. And that’s important because, while some of us deserve full marks for being good recyclers, local authorities estimate 30% of all recyclable material is still ending up in the landfill.

Other communities have a clear bag bylaw in place which residents have embraced as a way of keeping recyclables and hazardous material out of the landfill. We learned we would need to take a second look at the “privacy bag” component of the program. But there is no doubt that this idea DOES work when made into law: it helps the environment and it saves municipalities money. That said, given the strong feelings outlined above, it’s a tough sell: It would be controversial, require a lot of upfront education and transition time. And with all the change going on in the County right now, staff have more urgent priorities on their plate. So yes, I am bummed out that there won’t be a clear bag bylaw coming any time soon.

However, the project was a success on other levels. We now know that there is a big opportunity on making a more concerted effort with a green bin and composting program. We identified a clear need to up our game on recycling education. We’re going to revisit our user pay model to encourage better compliance, waste reduction, and to find cost efficiencies in the system.

In the meantime, I’m going to continue to use clear bags because it forces me to really think about what I’m throwing away, to wash out that margarine tub instead of tossing it. I also assume my neighbours have more important things to do in life than root around in my garbage and judge me based on what’s in there. And I know Mother Nature will be happy with me, and that matters the most.

Mike Harper, Councillor, Wellington

To see the full report, please click here