An online petition is calling on city council to reconsider its decision to implement a clear garbage bag program.
Effective Feb. 7, residents and businesses will be required to put their trash in clear bags, a move the city hopes will decrease the amount of waste going to the landfill.
Orillia resident Robert Harnden created an online petition, in which he lists a number of concerns with the change.
He told OrilliaMatters the city has “valid objectives and intentions,” including the goal of increased waste diversion.
“You can’t argue that, but there’s always going to be people to whom that message isn’t going to get across,” he said.
Privacy is also a concern he has.
“I resent the shaming tactics this program seems to imply. It’s a bit of a violation of privacy,” Harnden said.
The city will allow for two “privacy bags” to be placed in the clear bag. Those privacy bags can be plastic grocery bags.
“I find the messaging of this program to be contradictory. They seem to be almost encouraging us to put more in the garbage,” Harnden said, adding he wondered what people with an abundance of opaque bags are supposed to do with them.
The new program will force waste collection workers to take on the role of “garbage police,” he added.
“I’m not sure that’s a reasonable expectation to put on the workers.”
Mayor Steve Clarke has been a proponent of the move to clear bags since council approved it in February 2021. He acknowledged the concerns about privacy but said the allowance of two privacy bags is adequate. The City of Guelph doesn’t allow any, he noted.
As for those who have opaque bags left over, he said he hopes they’ll reuse them or give them to organizations that might be able to use them for clothing donations.
With the new program having been approved a year ago, “I’m hoping people have cut back on their traditional garbage bags,” Clarke said.
Stores in the city that sell garbage bags received plenty of notice about the move and are “committed to increasing their supply” (of clear bags), he added.
The company responsible for waste collection in the city is ready to adapt to the new program, he said.
“We have a terrific waste collection company with great employees. They certainly are taking on this responsibility (to check for items that shouldn’t be in bags), but that’s been worked out.”
The mayor said the goal of the program is not to shame people.
“That’s an unfortunate interpretation. All we want is stuff that shouldn’t be going into the landfill to be sorted,” he said.
“If people already are compliant, I don’t think there’s anything to worry about.”
The purpose of switching to clear bags is to increase waste diversion, said Clarke, who pointed out compost and recyclable material account for nearly 36 per cent of what goes into the landfill.
He hopes residents who are against the change will eventually come to support it and see it as a way to extend the life of the landfill.
“If it wasn’t for the programs Orillia has put in place over the years, it would be closed now,” he said.
Harnden said he and his neighbours follow the rules and are mindful when it comes to sorting their waste. Despite that, they remain concerned about the switch.
“They’re not happy and they don’t like the fact that our politicians have forced this on us,” he said.
