‘Bag tags’ trashed by residents

It’s clear many Fort Frances residents have serious concerns about, or were even downright hostile towards, the new “bag tags” the town is aiming to implement here starting May 31.
A total of about 160 people attended a pair of public meetings held Tuesday afternoon and evening at the Civic Centre.
“Plain and simple, we don’t want bag tags,” said one man who received applause at the afternoon meeting, which ran from 2-4 p.m.
“We have a good thing going now. Why do we have to change it?” said someone else.
“If council doesn’t go through with it, do we get to return the tags?” quipped another man.
At the afternoon session, resident Ken Perry said municipal issues often have supporters and detractors amongst the population, but “bag tags” have “no such support.”
“There’s plenty of talk but none of it positive,” he remarked. “Garbage collection should not have a user fee attached to it. User fees should be left to services voluntary in nature.
“Garbage disposal is necessary.”
Perry noted people realize the town needs a better waste management system, but questioned how much waste would be created by the 350,000 “bag tags” that will go on garbage bags in the future.
He also wondered how much gas will be used by people going out to buy the tags, and what other costs there would be that would effectively negate the purpose of implementing the system in the first place.
Perry added at the evening session that “It’s being shoved down our throats; that’s why we’re opposed to it.”
Kim Roy questioned how much small businesses should have to pay for commercial garbage pickup, and whether the town’s estimates for garbage pickup costs were accurate.
She added some businesses don’t have space for a dumpster on their property, and if they did, couldn’t fill it in a week anyway.
“Is it not possible to just use tags?” she asked, to which both Mayor Dan Onichuk and Coun. Neil Kabel said the proposed bylaw could possibly change to allow this before it is passed next week.
“This is totally ridiculous,” said Rob Carlson, who also turned in a petition with 150 signatures against the town’s plan to implement “bag tags.”
“It’s going to be abused. There’s going to be garbage strewn all over the place,” he remarked. “The fines, the bylaw officers. It’s going to cost a fortune.”
Walter Horban, who also said he’d like to see the town keep on letting residents use red, large metal 30-gallon drums, noted he was concerned about mischief with “bag tags,” among other things.
Resident Marlene Deschamps said she felt that if the town must implement “bag tags,” they should “phase it in” slowly. She reasoned that currently, residents—particularly those on a fixed income—have no time to get proper garbage containers, for instance.
“That time-frame is unacceptable and unfair,” she said.
Bylaw enforcement officer Dave Egan, speaking as a citizen, said he felt that maybe the town should strike up a committee which includes some local residents, and “work at phasing it in” so it doesn’t feel like council is simply telling people what to do without their input.
A woman who has four units in a multi-residential building noted she was concerned about having to pay $80 a month for a contractor to pick up garbage there (and pass on that expense to her tenants), when the tenants could easily just get “bag tags” on their own, save themselves money, and her any hassle.
Another man said “bag tags” penalize families because households with children will create more waste, and inevitably result in more “bag tags” bought by its occupants.
Ken Rogoza said the town should think about how much it will cost businesses that now have to buy dumpsters, put padlocks on them to ensure others don’t get rid of their garbage in them, and even install security cameras to catch those who try to.
Doug Brown, the town’s manager of Operations and Facilities, headed up the information sessions, relaying to the public the rules behind the proposed “bag tag” system as well as the town’s rationale for pursuing the new system.
He stressed several times during both sessions that “bag tags” were not about money, but about encouraging recycling and reducing landfill waste—ideas not only good for the future of the landfill here, but in accordance with the wishes of the provincial government.
In December, the province announced it was going to fund 50 percent of the recycling costs for communities in Ontario, said Brown. But it also wants to increase the recovery of “Blue Box” material so that 60 percent of all waste is being diverted from landfills by 2008.
In 2002, a total of 284.9 tonnes of recyclables were turned in (including glass, which, while being stored at the landfill, will be recycled as roadfill). In 2003, that number dropped to only 183.96.
The town’s total diversion rate, estimated Brown, is merely 5.08 percent.
“We’re going to have to jump on the bandwagon some day to make Fort Frances a ‘greener’ community,” he stressed.
“The problem is recycling is not people’s concern here,” added Brown. “When somebody has something they want to throw out, this [“bag tags”] will force people to look at it and think, ‘Can I put it in a bag and put a tag on it, or can I recycle it?’”
Likewise, Brown said the province is looking at banning the dumping of organic waste at landfills, and the town must look into a community composter or some other means of getting rid of organic waste.
Brown said the town is in preliminary discussions with Normiska regarding this.
He added the 66 tonnes of organic waste dumped at the landfill here during the free tipping day May 8 was something the province definitely does not want to see in the future—and clearly demonstrated why a composter is needed.
As well, Brown cited events like the recent Household Hazardous Waste Day, which saw 370 vehicle loads drop off a total of 18,700 kg in items that can’t normally be disposed of at the landfill.
If such well-received events are to continue, the funding has to come from somewhere.
“Where would the waste go if we didn’t do that [hold waste day]? The government is forcing us to do this sort of thing,” he remarked.
A couple of residents who spoke up admitted they didn’t create much garbage, and didn’t have a problem with “bag tags.” They just wanted to keep on putting out their garbage in a plastic bag at the curb without having to put them in a Type ‘A’ or ‘B’ container.
One woman who lives in the west end of town said she drives her garbage bags to the end of her driveway for pickup each week, and having to use a garbage can might make it difficult for her to do so.
“‘Bags only’ are a consideration,” noted Coun. Kabel.
Larry Wood noted at the afternoon meeting that in the past, under the Northwest Ontario Recycle Association, he used to see “a sea of blue” looking down his street, meaning more people recycled here when there was a wider variety of materials acceptable in “Blue Boxes.”
And at the evening session, he brought in numerous materials—such as egg cartons and types of plastics—to show the town all the materials no longer being taken away in “Blue Boxes.”
Brown noted the future of recycling in Fort Frances could mean the town may go back to weekly collection—if the amount of recyclables put in “Blue Boxes” triples with the advent of “bag tags.”
He also said the town will look into expanding what types of materials will be acceptable. Right now, the town is limited by what Koochiching County—the only financially-viable alternative for recycling the town has—will accept.
But Brown noted Kenora, Atikokan, and Sioux Lookout (and possibly Dryden in the future) are able to recycle more because they are sending their recycling to Winnipeg or Thunder Bay—something made possible by the fact they all have “bag tags” to pay for the transportation costs.
Brown noted “bag tags” first started in Ontario in 1991, and now more than 100 communities use them. They, too, have had to deal with concerns similar to those brought forth by citizens at the two meetings yesterday, but overcame them to go on and run successful programs.
One woman at the evening session noted she just moved here, and found there was no easy way to get rid of all the cardboard boxes she had after the relocation.
She suggested that instead of forcing people to drop the cardboard off at the landfill, there should be a special drop-site for large amount of cardboard to be deposited for recycling (as opposed to being put out in “Blue Boxes” every two weeks in small amounts).
A man at that session added the town should move the glass drop site, currently located at the Public Works building on Fifth Street West, to a more central location if the town wants to see more use out of it.
Mayor Onichuk stressed the town must find a way to reduce waste going to the landfill—and increase recycling—by the year 2008.
“‘Bag tags’ get us thinking about recycling. We have to move towards that,” he remarked. “We can do a three percent tax increase, but what happens when 2008 comes, we haven’t changed our ways, and it all comes crashing down.
“We need to find a way to do it. We don’t have all the answers right now. That’s why we’re sitting here,” the mayor added.
Mayor Onichuk noted residents should remember that “bag tags” also will prevent people from out of town dumping their garbage here for free.
Brown, who started as manager of Operations and Facilities here last year, even came under personal attack a few times. “Why don’t you stick one [a bag tag] on your head and mail yourself back to Marathon,” remarked one citizen on hand for the evening session.
“Mr. Brown hasn’t rode into town as the big bad guy here. He’s done some wonderful things,” said CAO Mark McCaig, who had to call for order in the Council Chambers several times during the pair of sessions.
Despite all the feedback from the public at the two meetings, council and management did not once say they would scrap the idea of “bag tags.”
But throughout yesterday’s two meetings, councillors and management did insist to the public that they were listening to their concerns, and would take their ideas into account when they make any adjustments to the bylaw, which is to see a third and final reading at the regular council meeting next Tuesday (May 25).
If the waste management bylaw is passed, the “bag tag” system then will take effect Monday, May 31.
The town has had someone hand-delivering five free introductory bag tags to each residential mailbox in town. About 2,000 residence have been delivered to so far, reported Brown, with the balance to be reached in the next week or so.
After May 31, “bag tags” will be available for $1 each at Canada Safeway, Pharmasave, Howarth’s Home Centre, East End Confectionery, Memorial Sports Centre, Civic Centre, Witherspoon’s One Stop, the public library, and the Sorting Gap Marina (during the summer months only).
The town has had 350,000 of these bright orange tags printed up.