Local 500 says "take back" solid waste collection services
October 30, 2012 at 2:45 PM
On October 30, Local 500 President Mike Davidson appeared at the City's Standing Committee on Infrastructure Renewal and Public Works to speak in favour of a motion to re-establish solid waste collection services within the City of Winnipegt.
"Municipal solid waste services are fundamewntal to the quality of life in our community," said Local 500 President, Mike Davidson. "There is no conistent evidence showing that contracted out, private sector waste collection is less costly and more efficient than waste collection provided by public employees. In fact, there is strong evidence that the cost of private sector waste collection increases at a much faster rate than in-house collection costs."
Although there was a push from some members of council to consider bringing waste collection services back in-house, the committee opted to look at how other cities handle garbage and recycling services. They will also seek a legal opinion on the current five-year contract with Emterra, the private company contracted to provide the majority of Winnipeg's garbage and recycling pick-up service since October 1st.
"We still believe that the promised savings have never materialized from when the City started to completely contract out the service in 2005," said Davidson. "Time and time again we've asked the City to conduct an external audit and show us the savings. To date, we have seen no evidence of any cost savings achieved."
At the meeting, Counillor Harvey Smith said that Winnipeg needs to examine ways of getting back into waste collection, and that the city has "lost control" of the service.
The Local will continue to monitor this issue and report back as information becomes available.
Click here to read a copy of the Local's presentation to the Standing Committee on Infrastructure Renewal and Public Works.
