A plan to let city workers pick up old furniture and other large pieces of garbage could cost taxpayers more money.
City council voted in December to allow union employees to collect bulky waste instead of private contractors. However, a report to the city’s water and waste committee said the current cost of bulky waste collection is $1.2 million.
It concludes if city workers took over the program, costs would jump to $1.8 million by 2019. The city said it would have to spend more on fuel, heating and storage for trucks needed to provide the service. The report also said the union CUPE generally concurs with the methodology used, but had some concerns with the facility and fleet financial estimates.
According to the report, CUPE said it will work with department officials to find cost savings and efficiencies.
