The Town of Bowden's recycling centre could be shut down after council discussed the matter at its meeting on April 9. Although it didn't make a decision on the issue – leaving that until after a public meeting to be held sometime later this spring – several councillors indicated they would like to see it closed because it is costing the town far too much in their view.
Currently, the town is paying $2,100 per month to Waste Management Inc. to pick up cardboard twice per week. The town's contract with the company doesn't expire until the end of 2013 and the town would be on the hook for a further six months beyond the decision date as a penalty to be paid to get out of the contract, meaning it would have expended the entire 2012 recycling budget if the contract were cancelled.
The costs to the town for pickup are based on the weight of the recyclables rather than a per pickup charge.
One of the other options open to the town is having the facility locked except for Saturdays, when people would be allowed to use it.
Closing the facility would mean a loss of about $12,000 in revenue to the town.
“I like recycling but it's not working the way it should,” Robb Stuart, Bowden's mayor, told fellow councillors. “It's a huge issue we've been talking about for a long time.”
Part of the issue is that non-residents from other communities are using the facility to dump non-recyclables such as old furniture.
“The bottom line is people with big unwanted stuff will always be a challenge,” said Andy Weiss, the town's chief administrative officer.
The majority of Bowden residents, it was pointed out, use the maximum three-bag limit they are allowed under the town's solid waste management bylaw. If the recycling centre is closed, the town would likely raise the bag limit and the corresponding fee to pay for it, although nothing has been decided at this point.
Following the meeting, Weiss said the town is finding it difficult to keep up with the volume of recycling residents are doing. With the addition of the amount of non-recyclables being dumped at the facility, it's looking unkempt, and the town wants to curb that, he said.
When the facility was first opened, Stuart said the town was spending about $1,800 per year for the contractor to pick up the recycling, but with the success of the program that cost has increased dramatically.
“It has gone up to $20,000 (annually) to pick that up and we're still not keeping up to the amount people are (recycling) – and even if it was being used for the purpose that it's there for would be OK; we don't mind subsidizing it for a green solution, but it's getting abused,” he said.
“It's costing the town a lot of money … and it looks terrible. It's right in the centre of town … and it's just turned into an eyesore,” he said.
Stuart said the town is still interested in pursuing some alternative to the Plasco facility that was recently cancelled, but the municipalities involved are currently in the process of forming a technical committee to study the issue. Stuart said the town will develop alternatives if the decision is made to close the recycling facility, although those have yet to be decided.
