Innisfail residents who do not have access to the town’s curbside disposal program will pay less than originally planned to drop off household waste and recyclables at the town’s transfer station.
In a Sept. 26 vote, Innisfail town council voted to amend the Solid Waste Collection and Disposal Bylaw to charge $35 per load of residential, construction or industrial waste dropped off at the transfer station. Originally it would have cost $75 under the proposed amendment to drop off that waste.
Innisfail CAO Helen Dietz said town administration and the operational services committee held additional discussions on the size of loads after council voted Aug. 22 to delay third reading of the amendments.
“Most of our comparisons had been going with a ton. When we re-looked at the bylaw we realized again we were only allowing half-ton trucks,” Dietz said. “In that manner, the rate could be taken down to half of what we had.”
The amended fees now charge $20 for a half-load and a minimum fee of $10 for smaller loads.
In addition, Dietz said the town has now made arrangements to allow residents of condominiums, duplexes and the trailer court to drop off recycling at the transfer station for a $5 fee per load after first purchasing a bin from the town or a retailer.
“Because some people don’t have bins at their commercial development … there’s now a rate where people can recycle, but it’s still a small fee because it’s just handled here and taken somewhere else,” Dietz explained. “It’s not an actual processing of the product here so we’re only covering our costs to handle it and carry it on to another facility.”
Residential or commercial waste not contained in a blue or green bin will now cost $25 for a full load and $15 for a half-load.
A $5 fee will be charged for dropping off yard waste contained in a 100-litre receptacle. Otherwise a fee of $35 will be charged for a full load of yard waste and $20 for a half-load.
“So there is another opportunity with the yard waste to bring it down there,” said Dietz. “But we’re encouraging (residents) to leave it to the curb. Recycling, yard waste, and garbage are all picked up at the curb.”
During early discussions on the proposed amendment in August, council heard that the town was running a monthly deficit of between $15,000 and $20,000 on garbage and recycling at the transfer station. The new fees were designed to offset some of that cost.
