Now that they’ve gotten into office, the newly elected city councillors are trying to deliver on their campaign promises.
That’s why Councillor Henry D’Angela brought up the issue of garbage at Tuesday night’s city council meeting.
“One of the biggest complaints when I was out talking to individuals was garbage,” he told fellow councillors. “I know right now we only have garbage pick up every two weeks but it does cause some problems in our community with different kinds of animals. There are also issues where people are just piling up garbage in front of their house and just leaving it there for two weeks.”
The Niagara Region is in charge of garbage collection, so Councillor D’Angela asked Regional Councillor Tim Whalen if he could push the issue.
“You can only make so many phone calls before you get upset,” Councillor D’Angela said. “There is also garbage that’s been thrown in the rural parts of our community that are causing major problems.”
Mayor Terry Ugulini explained that it is the region who looks after illegal dumping concerns, but that other garbage problems may have to be tackled by the city.
“If it’s out on the curb it’s a regional issue,” Mayor Ugulini said. “If it’s on the city part of the property, that falls under our responsibility. Some of the issues that need addressing are our issues at the city level and some are at the regional level.”
Councillor D’Angela also questioned the region’s garbage pick up schedule.
Back in 2020, the Niagara Region switched to an ‘every two weeks’ model for garbage collection.
“Was the hope to increase the conversion rate and reduce garbage?” Councillor D’Angela asked. “Can you bring us back some numbers to see if that actually has happened in terms of increasing recycling and compost and reduction into actual waste?”
Regional Councillor Whalen said that the two-week schedule had been a success and he promised to come back with some actual numbers to prove it.
At the end of his statement, Councillor D’Angela made a plea for an overall quicker response when it comes to garbage issues.
“We have to be more diligent and respond to the complaints of our residents in a quicker, much faster pace than we are right now,” he said. “It was one of the topics that was very highly spoken to me throughout the election. We definitely need to move on that.”
