$2 a Bag Tag

Wednesday, 11 December 2013 at 13:28

Council approves the increase for July 1, 2014 bringing the tax levy down to 1.03%

If you're looking for a gift idea for the hard to buy for person, a collection of County garbage bag tags may be an option.

By a vote of 7-3 County council approved a motion by Councillor David Mayberry to increase the cost of bag tags to $2 per bag starting July 1, 2014, instead of a previously proposed phase in system which wouldn't see tags costing that much until January 2016.

Mayberry believes garbage should be a user pay system.

"The actual cost is still $2.20 a bag and we should try and be moving toward that as progressively and I would even suggest aggressively as we possible can so those who produce garbage, which is a personal choice, actually take responsibility for what they're doing."

Mayberry acknowledges the fee increase does have the potential to become a burden for residents.

"It also has the opportunity for people to refocus on what do I put in garbage and what do I put in recycling? and if they chose to put everything in garbage instead of recycling then ya, it's going to be a burden for them. Using the figures from councillor (Margaret) Lupton, if two thirds of everything we put in a garbage bag don't need to be there, then wait a minute, that's a 66 % reduction before you even start."

He says while the issue of illegal dumping has come up, he doesn't think the fee increase will have an impact.

"The ones that are doing it now probably are going to, but our experience in Southwest Oxford, and we started bag tags before anyone else, was that we really didn't see a significant increase and in fact after a little while, that actually decreased, people just didn't do it. I actually believe most people want to live in a community that we are proud of and living in a community with garbage all over the place doesn't make you particularly proud."

County staff says the increase in tag fees will equate to a $131,000 savings on the tax levy bringing it from 1.29 percent to just 1.03 percent.