Barrie city council has approved a six-month pilot project aimed at reducing illegal dumping and litter across the city’s Business Improvement Area (BIA), including the downtown core.
The pilot, approved through a direct council motion at the Jan. 28 meeting, is expected to begin in March. It authorizes expanded waste collection in areas facing ongoing problems, including seven-day-a-week servicing of public litter bins and targeted cleanup of illegally dumped materials and surrounding debris.
Downtown Coun. Craig Nixon said litter continues to undermine events and revitalization efforts, despite significant public investment in the area.
“People are very happy with the initiatives and the progress we have made and yet one issue kind of still remains that you would think is a fairly simple solution — it’s garbage,” he said.
“There’s nothing more frustrating for myself and the rest of us is that we do all these major things which are many steps forward but then it seems that this is a step backwards. I think if we’re going to go through with all those other things, we need to address this.”
Mayor Alex Nuttall criticized illegal dumping, describing it as disrespectful and unacceptable behaviour that detracts from the city’s downtown investments.
“I think that we are investing heavily in downtown,” he said.
“It would be a shame to spend so much money on all of the incredible things – whether you are a young person going to college or university, a CEO, someone finding a job downtown, or a senior attending an opera or theatre performance — only to have all of those people walking past garbage because of a few disrespectful individuals.”
The program will be funded through the city’s tax rate stabilization reserve. While the final cost has not been determined, staff are expected to provide council with a detailed estimate.
During council discussion, Nuttall asked whether hiring a small group of employees would be less expensive than contracting the work out. Chief administrative officer Michael Prowse said it could reduce costs but noted it may create operational challenges due to existing contracts.
“We have existing contracts, multitudes of existing contracts,” he said.
“I think council’s concern about the cost is fair – our commitment is we’ll (city staff) provide a memo back on what we believe the estimated cost to be, but that will still allow staff to move forward unless council pulls back on the reins,” he said.
The pilot will include regular reporting back to the BIA and council, along with an implementation plan aimed at improving long-term waste collection practices in the area.
