Winnipeg councillor wants different approach to dealing with garbage in parks

A Winnipeg city councillor wants the city to trash its current garbage bin strategy and focus on redistributing existing bins and educating the public.

Coun. Janice Lukes says 67 per cent of the waste collected by city staff is from garbage bins in parks and on streets.

Despite this, it doesn’t appear more bins are coming as it would cost an extra $250,000 to have new bins installed and that doesn’t include labour costs.

Instead, Lukes has put forward a motion for city administrators to work with councillors to find a better way to divide the existing garbage bins around the city.

“The public works department has identified that they have not been strategic in placing their garbage cans. They have prepared maps now for every councillor on where their garbage cans are and I want to sit down with them and realign and do an equitable distribution of the garbage cans,” said Lukes.

She is also wanting to see a public education campaign to teach people to take home the garbage they create.

Her motion was passed Monday at the Assiniboia Community Committee and now it will move to the Public Works Committee for consideration.