Hamilton's one bag limit has illegal garbage dumping out of control

Illegal dumping and overseeing the one-bag garbage limit are stretching Hamilton’s enforcement powers to the limit.
The city is receiving more than four times as many complaints about illegal dumping of garbage than it did in 2007.
And the complaints, combined with enforcing the one-bag limit that went fully into effect last year, have outstripped staff’s bylaw enforcement capacity.
In addition, the cost of cleaning up illegal dumping is now pegged at $700,000 a year.
Those are some of the findings in a report on rogue dumping and litter which city councillors will consider at a waste management workshop July 6.
The meeting, which was supposed to be held this week but was postponed to deal with CUPE contract negotiations, will also revisit the controversial option of bi-weekly garbage collection.
Councillor Tom Jackson, who’s been warning for more than two years that illegal dumping is an overlooked but rapidly growing problem, says he feels vindicated by the report.
The east Mountain councillor is convinced a good portion of the problem stems from a backlash to the city’s aggressive waste diversion policies which he fears is turning responsible citizens into renegades.
“Now the stats are proving my worst fears,” said Jackson.
According to the report, municipal law enforcement received 1,360 complaints about ditching garbage on public and private property last year compared to 307 in 2007.
The dumping typically takes place by roadways, in alleys, parks, and commercial bins.
Scott Murray, president of the Canadian Carwash Association, this week told councillors that the problem is “chronic.”
In an interview, Murray says Hamilton car wash owners are finding everything from tires and mattress to recyclables like cardboard and yard waste in their dumpsters.
“But the biggest concern is the growth of regular household waste,” Murray said, linking the problem to the one-bag limit.
Jackson also suspects much of the problem is related to shrinking bag limits, which are intended to help meet the goal of diverting 65 per cent of the city’s waste from the Glanbrook landfill.
The one-bag limit was introduced in 2009 and fully enforced by the spring of 2010.
Jackson also thinks tipping fees at city dumps, officially called community recycling centres, may be contributing to the problem.
The public is now charged $8.50 for the first 100 kg and $117 per tonne. Fees were introduced in 1999.
“All of these are factors playing into the community backlash,” says Jackson.
“People have just decided to take things into their own hands.’
Jackson knows he’s often been portrayed as “Neanderthal” for pointing out what he sees as flaws in waste diversion policies.
But he fully commends the waste management division for helping extend the life of the landfill and making Hamiltonians more environmental conscious.
His beef is that progressive policies only tend to be examined from the upside and not the downside.
For Jackson, the downside of change in this instance is a body blow to the city’s cleanliness and image.
In order to deal with the mushrooming complaints and keep enforcing the bag limit, a bylaw officer from property standards has been temporarily transferred to the environmental enforcement team and two other employees are being seconded to help collect more dumping data.
Staff is also recommending more educational efforts, possibly toughening of bylaws and ramping up enforcement, all of which will be discussed at the July meeting.
Meanwhile, staff notes that the city’s waste reduction task force is not at all convinced that the one-container limit is the culprit. They want to collect more data.
You can’t blame them. It is hard to believe that responsible people suddenly start rolling their garbage down ravines or pitching it in alleys because they can only put one bag containing 23 kg. of garbage at the curb each week.
Still, something is obviously happening and Jackson should be congratulated for persistently trying to get to the bottom of it. It’s finally paying off.
In April, the last time council debated biweekly garbage pickup, councillor after councillor also chimed in to complain about illegal dumping in their wards.
The pack is catching up. Jackson is no longer a lone wolf.
Andrew Dreschel's commentary appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. adreschel@thespec.com