Updated 2006 Report on Bag Tags
Full User Pay (1.00 for every Bag)
Financial Stats - Garbage Year 2006
Garbage Collection325,000
Garbage Disposal284000
total609,000
Revenue
Landfill Site200,000
Bag Tags 5,600
total205,600
Operating Deficit $ 403,400
Advantages to a Full User Pay System
120% to 30% decrease in waste, in the first year alone
2Increase in Recycling
3Extends the life of the Landfill
4Save confusion and disagreements between garbage contractor and residents.
Disadvantages to a Full User Pay System
1Negative feedback from the public having to pay for tags. Through a strong advertising campaign and educating the public this can eventually be overcome.
2Could see increase in debris left along road side
One Bag Per Week - Financial expectations of a full bag tag system
Number of Dwellings in South Bruce Peninsula = 6500
Consider 50 % to be year round = 3250
Low end estimate for bag tags is 1 per dwelling per week
Consider that for July and August 6500 dwellings times 1 bag/week times 8 weeks = $ 52,000
For the remaining 10 months we have 3250 times 1 bag times 44 weeks = $143,000
Totalling $ 195,000 in bag tag revenue
One and a Half Bags Per Week - Financial expectations of a full bag tag system
Number of Dwellings in South Bruce Peninsula = 6500
Consider 50 % to be year round = 3250
Low end estimate for bag tags is 1.5 per dwelling per week
Consider that for July and August 6500 dwellings times 1.5 bag/week times 8 weeks = $ 78,000
For the remaining 10 months we have 3250 times 1.5 bag times 44 weeks = $214,500
Totalling $ 292,500 in bag tag revenue
Administration Costs
With a total bag tag system there is really no increase in administration costs other the delivery of tags to various outlets throughout the municipality. The Front counter is adequately staffed to handle the additional increase in bag tag purchases. Another advantage is a foreseeable decrease in my time dealing with garbage disputes.
Conclusion
The figures I am using are estimates, and with the large amount of part time dwellings it is hard to come up with exact figures, I feel confident that the figures I have used are fairly accurate. As you can see from the information, we will probably not entirely cover all costs associated with garbage collection and disposal but it is a huge step towards achieving that goal.
Partial User Pay System (With Free Tags Per Week)
Background
Currently the Town of South Bruce Peninsula uses a partial pay system with two free bags per week but they do not require bag tags. This has caused some confusion and some unfairness. Cottagers who pay taxes feel that they should be allowed to put out more bags during the few months that they are here in the summer because it would still be less then the allowable 104 free bags for the entire year. Currently people are placing bags at houses nearby where no one is home to avoid buying tags.
Dealing with these issues is time consuming and almost impossible to prove. I spend around 4 hours per week at these locations talking with residents and the garbage contractor trying to resolve the problems.
Free Bag Tags
Having every bag tagged, will eliminate 80 to 90% of the problems with garbage pick-up. The down side is dealing with how to distribute them.
Administration
There appears to be two ways to distribute free bags tags. The first is to mail them out but this causes problems because you have no way to prove if they were received or not. The most common form of distribution is having residents come to Town Hall and sign for there tags. This is the option I prefer but is time consuming on the counter staff. Below is a list of area municipalities and bag tag information.
Grey Highlands75 free tags per year, issued from Town Hall in April every year. Residents must sign for tags
Hanover52 free tags per year, mailed out once a year
BrocktonNo free Tags and $1.25 per tag
Kincardine 52 free tags per year, issued from Town Hall in April every year. Residents must sign for tags
Owen Sound52 free tags per year, mailed out
The mail option is also quite expensive for South Bruce Peninsula with many residents not living here year round, I have a figure of $ 5000 to $7000 depending on weight of letter.
Conclusion
The partial pay system, in my opinion will work much better if every bag is tagged. If council chooses this option, I would recommend that we reduce our free bags to one per week from the current two per week and distribute 52 tags per year at Town Hall in Wiarton. The Tags would be distributed during the month of April as many people are coming in to pay taxes and cottagers are in the area doing spring cleaning. The cost of administration is tough to estimate, but I believe it can be done without extra staff, and if additional staff were needed it would only be for a 4 week period during the month we hand out tags at the front counter. That cost would be less then $2000.
Thanks,
Bill Jones
Manager of Public Works