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Additional Information - Inside Out
News from around the horseshoe
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By Bill Hutchins Illustration by Wayne Westfall
Kingston homeowners will soon have to be extra picky about the type
of garbage they throw away. In a few months, the city will impose
a one-bag limit per household. Additional curbside garbage bags
will require a $2 tag.
“It’s an inconvenience, but it is changing habits. We
owe it to future generations to give it a try,” says Councillor
Lisa Osanic, who supports the trash reduction policy.
Seeking widespread acceptance among households may not be easy,
since the policy was only approved by a slim 7–6 majority.
Indeed, the mayor and several councillors say that forcing people
to reduce their weekly trash output is more akin to punishment than
to proactive waste disposal.
“This is a tax on larger households. This is a tax on families,”
said Councillor Bryan Paterson. He predicts the plan will not only
create financial hardship for many families but will cast councillors
as money-hungry service slashers. “This is reducing a service
without a corresponding decrease in property taxes. And I think
the optics of that are just terrible.”
Mayor Mark Gerretsen also voted against the trash reduction plan.
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Profile Kingston and Summer in the City are divisions
of Riverview Publishing Inc.
© 2012 Profile Kingston/Summer in the City/Riverview Publishing
Inc.
No reproduction or republication in whole or part without written permission.
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