Offering Citizens a Fair and Flexible Approach Tailored to Their Needs

BEACONSFIELD, QUEBEC--(Marketwired - June 15, 2015) - The City of Beaconsfield is proud to announce details about its automated waste collection system and incentive tariff, which will take effect on January 1, 2016. The initiative aims to divert up to 50% of the waste otherwise sent to landfill.

The automated collection system and introduction of an incentive tariff are part of the City's strategy to reduce waste. The strategy, deployed in 2014, includes a collection calendar identifying new services and incentives to encourage home composting, grasscycling and leaf mulching.

"This strategy was developed to respond to our high rate of waste generation, where the City of Beaconsfield was determined to be the second highest producer of waste per capita on the Island of Montreal in 2013. In fact, we were producing more than 7,000 tons of garbage annually, half of which could have been diverted from landfill. That's a huge amount. We needed to act, and that's what we're doing," explains Georges Bourelle, Mayor of Beaconsfield.

HOW DOES THE AUTOMATED WASTE COLLECTION SYSTEM WORK?

Effective January 1, 2016, weekly household waste collection will be conducted using an automated collection system based on an incentive tariff. New garbage bins equipped with RFID transponders will be distributed free of charge to Beaconsfield residents in autumn 2015. Residents will be asked to choose among three bin formats: MINI (120L), STANDARD (240 L) and HEFTY (360L).

The RFID transponder affixed to the bin enables the system to link the bin to each civic address. Readings are taken at the time of each collection. The size of the bin and frequency of collections will be automatically registered based on how they use the service. It is important to note that effective January 1, 2016, only the new charcoal bin will be collected. Bags or other garbage placed next to the bin will not be accepted.

WHAT IS THE INCENTIVE TARIFF?

The incentive tariff is based on the "pay as you throw" principle and is established according to the size of the bin and frequency of the collections. The weight of the bin is not relevant. The incentive tariff takes a more equitable approach than the current rate structure, as it accounts for the efforts citizens make to reduce the waste left out for curbside pick-up. The more sorting that's done by using all other available collections, the slower the garbage bin will be filled and the less often it will need to be put out for pick-up. That being said, garbage collection will continue to be offered every week to enable residents to use the service as needed.

HOW EXACTLY IS THE INCENTIVE TARIFF CALCULATED?

In 2015, the municipal tax bill identified a fixed amount of $176 for overall waste management. This figure does not take into account the amount of waste actually produced. The new incentive tariff will reflect the efforts made in this regard.

The incentive tariff is calculated based on a fixed tariff plus a variable tariff:

CITIZENS AS AGENTS OF CHANGE

Andrew Duffield, Director of Public Works explains: "Our experience with a pilot project conducted in 2014 through a partnership with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and with the involvement of 253 volunteer families showed us that this new service will without question have a positive impact on the overall management of waste. We are already seeing many changes in the habits of our citizens, notably with respect to their use of the green residue collection, which has increased significantly in the past few months. This is very promising."

He adds: "Citizens are asked to choose their new bin by September 25, 2015. In the coming weeks, a team from the firm Cycle Environnement will visit homes to explain the program and help residents choose the bin format that's right for them. We want to stress that there is no good or bad bin size. What's important are the efforts and actions of each person to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill."

Beaconsfield residents will be able to order their bin directly on the City's website at beaconsfield.ca . More detail is available in the Reference Guide which will be distributed to homes in mid-June.

An open house will also be held on September 15, 2015. The bins will be delivered to each home starting in late November 2015.

A NEW PARTNERSHIP WITH ÉCO ENTREPRISES QUÉBEC

As the organization that represents companies which put containers, packaging and printed matter on Quebec's market and pay 100% of the net costs of municipal curbside recycling programs, Éco Entreprises Québec (ÉEQ) has partnered with the City to support the implementation of this project in areas of communications, awareness-raising, characterization of trash and recyclables, as well as monitoring of impacts on the quality of recycling.

Virginie Bussières, ÉEQ's Director, Communications and Public Affairs, indicated that "this partnership is consistent with our Best Practices Initiative for Effective Curbside Recycling, which seeks to support residual materials managers throughout Quebec implement measures to recover more and better. As the collection of both trash and recyclables is necessarily dependent on the actions people take, we felt it our duty to participate in this innovative project to learn all we can about their habits and collect relevant data to raise public awareness. Congratulations to the City of Beaconsfield for launching this trail-blazing project that, we hope, will inspire other municipalities to do the same."