New waste management plan coming before Ottawa council. Here's what's in it

The plan will be presented to the environment and climate change committee and city council later in June. Councillors received an early look at some of the proposed changes during a technical briefing on Friday.

Published Jun 09, 2024 • Last updated 4 hours ago • 4 minute read

Every household in the city will be allowed to put out three bags (or containers) as part of the biweekly pickup, down from the current maximum of six containers. Photo by Tony Caldwell /POSTMEDIA

Ottawa residents will be paying one flat tax for garbage disposal. The city will be exploring proven technologies to reduce the garbage that goes into landfill, banning commercial waste from its landfill and using private-sector landfills.

And there will be new ways to reduce the amount of trash left at the curb, from expanding recycling cafés to reducing food waste to introducing green bins for apartment buildings.

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These are some of the dozens of pieces in the city’s sweeping 30-year waste management master plan, which has been five years in the making.

Ottawa’s population is growing and the amount of waste the city will need to manage is forecast to increase by 31 per cent over the plan’s term. By then, the national capital’s population is expected to reach 1.5 million people, said Shelley McDonald, the city’s director of solid waste services.

The Trail Road landfill is anticipated to be at capacity between 2034 and 2035.

“There’s no doubt that, within the 30-year plan, the next big expense will be required,” said Alain Gonthier, the general manager of public works.

Every year that the city can extend the life of the Trail Road landfill has value, he said. “What we’re trying to do is push that big expense expense as far as we can.”

The overall goal is to reduce the amount of waste disposed by households, city facilities, parks and public spaces by 15 per cent by 2029 and by 23 per cent by 2034, said Nichole Hoover-Bienasz, program manager of long-term planning.

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In the plan’s first five years, the main goal will be to reduce the amount of waste produced in the first place.

Meanwhile, the city will be exploring proven technologies, particularly mixed-waste processing and waste-to-energy incineration Mixed-waste processing is a mechanical process that removes organics and recyclables from the waste stream so they can be sent off to further diversion. Waste-to-energy incineration burns garbage to produce energy.

Last December, city staff began a feasibility study on those technologies. Recommendations are expected to be before city council around the middle of 2025, Hoover-Bienasz said. Then the next steps will be laid out for council to consider. Depending on the provincial approval process, that could include design, construction and community engagement, all of which could take from eight to 15 years, she said.

The city will also be exploring diverting new kinds of waste from the landfill, including reducing the amount of textile waste that goes there. As it stands, five per cent of Ottawa’s waste stream is textile waste, Hoover-Bienasz said. Two other categories including bulky waste — such as furniture and mattresses — and renovation waste are also under consideration for diversion.

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READ: A private landfill wants Ottawa’s trash

The master plan also recommends that all households pay the same amount for waste management, offering equity because all residents receiving the same service would pay the same amount.

Waste management is currently funded by residents in two ways. They pay for waste diversion such as recycling on their property tax bills, as well as a “garbage fee” for curbside pickup. Homeowners with homes with higher assessments currently pay more on their tax bills for waste management than those with lower assessments.

A flat “fully recoverable fee” — as opposed to the current hybrid model — would charge every household the same amount. A forecast shows that a household with a house assessed at $415,000 would pay $227 in 2024 in both scenarios. By 2034, the same household would pay $371 under the status quo and $381 under the flat-fee scenario, said Isabelle Jasmine, the city’s deputy city treasurer.

Ottawa is generating far more garbage than it can manage sustainably, said Capital Ward Coun. Shawn Menard, the environment committee chair.

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Menard sees three reasons why the plan’s changes would be positive: They extend the life of the Trail Road landfill by 14 years; they offer service enhancements; and they give the city time to come up with a permanent solution to the landfill’s limits, whether that’s a new landfill or waste-to-energy incineration.

“These are things we can prepare for and save for over time,” Menard said.

Residents will have to modify their behaviour when it comes to garbage, he said, but the biggest change will come this fall, when the city limits households to garbage to three items for curbside pickup.

“Perhaps 15 per cent of the population is putting out a lot of garbage, and maybe not recycling or using their green bin, and they’s going to require some education and some more incentives, which I think the three-bag limit helps to achieve,” Menard said.

The master plan also outlines new options for people, he said.

“A lot of these things residents have been asking for, so you’ll get green bins in multi-residential towers when you didn’t have that before. That’s service enhancement,” he said.

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