Calgary pay-per-tip black cart system would be too costly: report

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For nearly five years, the city of Calgary has been exploring ways to charge homeowners based on how much trash is left for collection, but a new report from the city administration recommends putting the idea on the curb.

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The original idea floated in 2018 was called “pay-as-you-go” and looked at the potential for three different cart sizes and a tag-a-bag program.

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A year later, the city looked at a pay-per-tip system, instead of multiple cart sizes. To track this, officials have explored the possibility of wireless RFID chips that would allow the truck to determine whose trash is being picked up and how often.

However, a report that went to the council’s community development committee on Thursday found the program would cost more to implement than it would save, and could have unintended consequences.

Shovel. Kourtney Penner, who chairs the committee, said she understands why the idea is being rejected for now.

“In the end, the program will cost more, which will then cost everyone more,” she said. “With the potential high error rate in billing and then the fact that trucks are driving down the alley anyway, it just didn’t make sense.”

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Administration said with RFID tags, the program can expect about a five percent error rate, which will result in 30,000 customer billing errors each month, adding to the cost of operating the program.

“The high probability of errors will result in increased customer calls and complaints to both City of Calgary and Enmax call centres,” the report said. “This will result in reduced customer satisfaction and reputational damage for The City.”

The report said that carts are portable, meaning they can be easily switched or confused. Penner said she saw this firsthand when she lived in a multi-family unit where neighbors decided to share their trash cans.

“We’ve only had two black bowls and two blue bowls,” Penner said, adding that they might be able to drive out a third if they really needed it.

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Administration also warned there could be the unintended consequence of people trying to put more garbage in their blue and green bins, which would cost the city and its waste partners more money in the long run.

A two-year pilot project in four communities could cost between $3.3 million and $3.98 million, with expected savings of just $1.98 million.

To implement the program citywide, it could cost more than $5.5 million to implement with savings of only $3 million at best.

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Even once the program was up and running, the administration estimated that the program would cost $639,000 more than it would save each year, and that would be, at best, a 69 percent output rate.

Penner said there may be a solution in the future.

“I think we need to continue to explore the technology,” she said, suggesting that one day there might be a way to load by weight as the truck picks up garbage.

“But then again, we’re making the assumption that your black wagon is directly behind your house,” she said. “What happens if your neighbor puts a very heavy thing in your trash?”

brthomas@postmedia.com
Twitter: @brodie_thomas