City of Powell River councillors have adopted a bylaw that will see incremental increases in municipal solid waste collection rates.
At the December 15 city council meeting, councillor Trina Isakson said the bylaw provides for updates to the existing bylaw.
“One is to outline the cost for recycling and garbage collection over the next five years to address the costs over time to them,” said Isakson. “It also separates recycling and garbage collection fees, and the acknowledgement that some buildings are not accessible by the garbage pick-up trucks. Currently, buildings that face that are paying both, even though they only receive one service.”
According to the bylaw, in 2023, homeowners will pay $110 for garbage pickup and $15 for recycling. The city will add $3 per year to the cost of garbage collection, rising to $122 in 2027. The annual recycling charge will go up 50 cents per year, rising to $17 in 2027.
The bylaw states that the annual charge will be billed on property tax notices.
Each residential property has been supplied with one cart to be used for garbage disposal. An additional 120-litre cart can be provided for an additional annual charge of $80, according to the bylaw. Loss or damage to the carts, leading to replacement, is at the expense of the property owner. The replacement fee is $80.
The bylaw still provides for extra bags of garbage outside of the carts. Garbage tags can still be purchased at a cost of $5.
Council gave first three readings to the bylaw at a meeting on December 1.
