DrT
November 26th, 2007, 03:45 PM
Restaurants instead of dumpsters in alleys!
Vancouver council to consider removing dumpsters
Jonathan Woodward, Vancouver Sun
Published: Sunday, November 25, 2007
Vancouver city council will decide this week whether to support plans by local businesses to make their alleys dumpster-free zones.
Overflowing bins that attract mess and crime should be replaced by small bags of trash that are picked up daily, said Kim Capri, an NPA councillor who will support the plan when it goes to a committee meeting on Thursday.
"Without dumpsters, these spaces become clean and free of disorder, people can think of other ways to use the space," she said.
Some 2,400 dumpsters dot city property in Vancouver, with more than 450 of those in back lanes downtown, according to the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association.
Fourteen different companies send dump trucks to make pick-ups each day, creating a traffic snarl in the alleys, said business association executive director Charles Gauthier.
An association survey in February showed that most of the dumpsters had been vandalized, were overflowing with mess or attracted crime, he said.
"We've had issues with dumpsters for a long, long time," said Gauthier. "Dumpsters are supposed to be locked. The surrounding area is supposed to be kept clean. But that's been a challenge to live up to."
The business improvement associations in downtown, Gastown and Yaletown want to use smaller bags, with waste and recyclables separated into different bags.
In the system proposed by Gauthier, the business owner would pay a charge for each bag picked up. Businesses spending some $200 per month on garbage pickup will save because many dumpsters are emptied even when they are not full, and a per-bag payment system will cut down on waste, he said.
The plan will have wide support when city council votes on it Thursday because cities like Seattle and Kelowna have tried it with positive results, said Vision Vancouver councillor Tim Stevenson.
"This has been proved successful elsewhere, and God knows, we've got an awful mess," he said.
Taking dumpsters away will free up space that can be used for restaurants and other amenities in a packed city centre, said Sean Heather, who owns the Salt Tasting Room, a restaurant which itself is in an alley.
"You look at a city like New York, where real estate is sky high, restaurants are forced into alleys. In this city, we're seeing that as well and we need to make sure that's desirable," he said.
Binners who make their living from cans and bottles won't have to dumpster-dive because the cans will already be separated, said Capri. In the report before council, staff recommend a "partnership between the business and binning communities."
One option is to give binners a job with the city to pick up the trash, said Capri. Ken Lyotier, executive director of United We Can, a bottle depot on Hastings Street, said there was some trepidation about the plan among binners but said ultimately the change would be a good thing.
"I dumpster-dived big-time in this town," he said. "People look down their noses at you, because digging in other people's garbage wasn't seen as something that's cool to do."
Some binners would like a steady job, but others prefer having no supervision and a lot of freedom, he said. "We need them [city council] to commit to making this a positive thing for us," he said.
After the plan is endorsed in principle, the next step is to change city bylaws to allow different waste collection on public property, said Capri. The plan won't apply to dumpsters that are on private property, she said.
Vancouver council to consider removing dumpsters
Jonathan Woodward, Vancouver Sun
Published: Sunday, November 25, 2007
Vancouver city council will decide this week whether to support plans by local businesses to make their alleys dumpster-free zones.
Overflowing bins that attract mess and crime should be replaced by small bags of trash that are picked up daily, said Kim Capri, an NPA councillor who will support the plan when it goes to a committee meeting on Thursday.
"Without dumpsters, these spaces become clean and free of disorder, people can think of other ways to use the space," she said.
Some 2,400 dumpsters dot city property in Vancouver, with more than 450 of those in back lanes downtown, according to the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association.
Fourteen different companies send dump trucks to make pick-ups each day, creating a traffic snarl in the alleys, said business association executive director Charles Gauthier.
An association survey in February showed that most of the dumpsters had been vandalized, were overflowing with mess or attracted crime, he said.
"We've had issues with dumpsters for a long, long time," said Gauthier. "Dumpsters are supposed to be locked. The surrounding area is supposed to be kept clean. But that's been a challenge to live up to."
The business improvement associations in downtown, Gastown and Yaletown want to use smaller bags, with waste and recyclables separated into different bags.
In the system proposed by Gauthier, the business owner would pay a charge for each bag picked up. Businesses spending some $200 per month on garbage pickup will save because many dumpsters are emptied even when they are not full, and a per-bag payment system will cut down on waste, he said.
The plan will have wide support when city council votes on it Thursday because cities like Seattle and Kelowna have tried it with positive results, said Vision Vancouver councillor Tim Stevenson.
"This has been proved successful elsewhere, and God knows, we've got an awful mess," he said.
Taking dumpsters away will free up space that can be used for restaurants and other amenities in a packed city centre, said Sean Heather, who owns the Salt Tasting Room, a restaurant which itself is in an alley.
"You look at a city like New York, where real estate is sky high, restaurants are forced into alleys. In this city, we're seeing that as well and we need to make sure that's desirable," he said.
Binners who make their living from cans and bottles won't have to dumpster-dive because the cans will already be separated, said Capri. In the report before council, staff recommend a "partnership between the business and binning communities."
One option is to give binners a job with the city to pick up the trash, said Capri. Ken Lyotier, executive director of United We Can, a bottle depot on Hastings Street, said there was some trepidation about the plan among binners but said ultimately the change would be a good thing.
"I dumpster-dived big-time in this town," he said. "People look down their noses at you, because digging in other people's garbage wasn't seen as something that's cool to do."
Some binners would like a steady job, but others prefer having no supervision and a lot of freedom, he said. "We need them [city council] to commit to making this a positive thing for us," he said.
After the plan is endorsed in principle, the next step is to change city bylaws to allow different waste collection on public property, said Capri. The plan won't apply to dumpsters that are on private property, she said.