New mayor wants recycling pickup adopted in Redcliff
By Jeremy Appel on October 31, 2017.
jappel@medicinehatnews.com @MHNJeremyAppel The Town of Redcliff is currently accepting bids from private contractors looking to establish recycling in town and potentially purchase its garbage collection, a process which ends in a couple weeks. A motion was put forward by then-councillor and new mayor Dwight Kilpatrick during the Aug. 21 council meeting to authorize a request for proposal for the contracting out of recycling and solid waste management services. The motion also authorized administration “to potentially negotiate with the successful firm to purchase the garbage collection assets of the Town of Redcliff.” The tender is open until Nov. 17. Kilpatrick told the News that introducing recycling in Redcliff has been a long-standing goal of his, as well as former councillor Chere Brown, who declined to run for re-election. “When she first came onto council, that was one of her main goals in life. Unfortunately, 15 years and we never got to do it,” he said. Kilpatrick pitched the possible simultaneous introduction of recycling and contracting out of garbage pickup as a way to deliver more services for less cost. “We’re always trying to look at ways we can save money or improve things,” said Kilpatrick. “We will decide, once these proposals come back, which way we’re going.” When the motion was put forward, council sought “to have something fairly substantial to be looking at by the new year,” he added. The problem with the current garbage pickup system is that the large size of the bin doesn’t encourage recycling, said the mayor. “We already have our solid waste management and it runs quite well,” he explained. “A lot of people love the system that we have. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t promote recycling because those big bins can hold almost anything.” Kilpatrick said there isn’t enough recycling in town to justify Redcliff doing its own, rather than contracting it out. Municipal manager Arlos Crofts similarly presented bringing recycling to town as the RFP’s main thrust. “The primary driver is looking at different recycling offers for residents,” Crofts said. He said private trash collection could come along with recycling, but it’s too early to say definitively. “That’s the point of issuing an RFP — to see what options are out there,” said Crofts. Sam Ferrier, president of CUPE Local 46, which represents inside and outside workers in Medicine Hat and surrounding area, said he was unaware of this development. “That’s the first I’ve heard of it,” Ferrier said, declining further comment until there’s a proposal on the table. 21
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