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Winnipeg considering new recycling fee for apartments and condos

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WINNIPEG -

The City of Winnipeg is considering a new recycling fee for apartments and condos, starting Jan. 1, 2023.

Right now single-family homeowners and residential tenants in buildings with seven units or less pay a $66 waste diversion fee every year.

Now a new report is recommending residents in multi-family buildings with eight units or more pay a $44 annual waste diversion fee. It says this will raise $4.25 million in revenue. The report says the new fee will make the system more fair as customers in multi-family buildings do not pay for recycling services as well as diversion programs like the 4R and community depots.

“Introducing a multi-family waste diversion fee will support equity with the residential customers, who to this point, have been funding the waste diversion programs,” the report says. The report says the department is projecting a deficit between 2021 and 2023 for waste diversion, in part because of providing recycling and diversion services without the corresponding fees.

But the fee might end up on the scrap heap at Winnipeg City Hall as it appears opposition is piling up. “Frankly, I don’t think there are the votes around city hall to go forward at this time and I would like to see a different model,” said Water and Waste Committee Chair Brian Mayes. Mayes said he’d prefer the necessary funding be raised through property taxes.

“That way it’s more equitable based on the value of the property, so lots of debate to come.” Mary Wall lives in an apartment and she wants councillors to vote it down.

“I can’t afford it and I know there are many people like me in my apartment block who would say the same thing,” said Wall. The report says city staff will need to consult with the provincial residential tenancies branch to implement the fee.

The report is also recommending a $1,200 annual fee, starting January 2022, for small businesses who want to use the 4R depots, plus a plan to offer more competitive landfill tipping fees to large waste haulers.  

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