Brush pile

New fees waived after worries about increased burning arise

County dumps are once again welcoming brush—at no charge. In February council approved a new set of fees for garbage and waste. While much of the focus was on a 50 per cent hike in the cost of bag tags, few noticed that a new fee had been added to the menu—a $10 charge for a load of brush or clean lumber. The new fee went into effect on April 24. It wasn’t until the following Saturday when many residents learned of the new fee—the hard way.

Municipal dumps, with the exception of Picton, have traditionally received this material and typically burned it on site. But the municipality is hungry for new income sources and the new brush charge was included in a range of fee increases for disposal of bulk waste and other loose garbage, construction debris, brush and clean lumber as well as the sale of blue boxes.

Last week council heard from angry residents— many of whom turned around and brought the brush back home rather than pay the new fee.

Some councillors worried the County would see a spike in burn permits and unauthorized brush burning in the wake of the new fee.

Hillier Councillor Alec Lunn attempted to table the issue during budget discussions last week but the issue was deflected to a council committee meeting the next day, where council agreed to reverse the charges. Under normal procedures the rollback would not go into effect until council ratified the decision later this month, but Public Works officials agreed they would suspend the fee immediately. Those who brought their brush to the dump this past Saturday were no longer asked to part with $10.