City of Victoria proposed pick up of kitchen scraps

The City of Victoria is asking the opinion of the public of the city what form they would like for pick of garbage and kitchen scraps.

The Options are:

• Option A - one week garbage pick up, the other week kitchen scraps, the bin to picked up in your yard but left at the curb - estimated cost $229 per year
• Option B - garbage and kitchen scrap pick up every two weeks from your yard with the bin left at the curb - estimated costs $183 per year
• Option C - garbage and kitchen scraps pick up every two weeks but you have to bring it to the curb - estimated cost of $161 per year

This coming year the City will be charging $202.88 for the weekly garbage pick up.

Initially I had thought I would have no need for the kitchen scraps part of the program.   More or less anything that is related to food we either compost, give to the chickens or the dog.   But then I looked at the list and saw it was much longer than what I thought would go into the kitchen scraps bin.

Kitchen scraps include:

• All food leftovers such as fruit and vegetable scraps, eggshells, meat, fish and poultry, bones, dairy products, tea bags, coffee grinds and filters, nuts and shells, solidified fats and grease.
• Soiled paper products such as paper towels and tissues, soiled paper food packaging, ice cream, milk and cream cartons, used paper cups and plates.

Seeing this list, I can see things that I currently put in the garbage that would go in the kitchen scrap bin.   Mainly the soiled paper and the grease.

I personally will opt for Option C as it is the cheapest.   Just over $40 may not be much, but given the rapidly rising fees and taxes from local government, I will happily opt for any option that reduces costs.   The City of Victoria is becoming a significant burden on housing costs through their relentless increase of taxes faster than inflation.  

Meanwhile I got a flyer from CUPE local 50 asking that I speak up in favour of Option A.   They dropped off a flyer in my mailbox today.  They not only want Option A, they want Option A with the addition of the return of the bin to the backyard.    I find this sort of self serving action by the union to be very short sighted and simply shows how utterly out of touch they are with reality.   There is a reason so many people really do not like public sector unions, the public sector unions do not seem to understand that protecting public sector worker jobs for no good reason turns people off.

I would have more respect for CUPE 50 if their flyer had said "Please choose Option A so that the City has to keep more of our members.  We think the extra cost to you is worth keeping a few more or our members employed."

In my ideal world I would like to see the City engage in some sort of competitive tending process for garbage collection.   The only way we will know if we are getting value for money is if no one can do it better or cheaper than the City does now.