Although not everyone is thrilled about it, July 30 is moving day in Estevan.
That is the date curbside garbage collection will begin and many homeowners in the city will be asked to move their garbage cans from the back alleys to in front of their homes for one day each week.
The much talked about decision has caused a fair bit of controversy as a vocal group of residents have expressed their displeasure with the decision made by city council in June.
While council has taken its fair share of heat over the decision, also finding themselves in the line of fire is the City's garbage contractor, Regens Disposal.
Regens, which was the only company to submit a bid for Estevan's garbage and recycling collection contract, has been the subject of much criticism from those against the idea of curbside waste collection.
In an interview Friday, Logan Baniulis of Regens spoke about why the company prefers curbside collection and other matters involving garbage collection and recycling in Estevan.
He said their desire to move the bins was largely because it was becoming tougher and tougher for their drivers to get down back alleys throughout the winter. This winter for example, the heavy snowfall forced the City to make all of Estevan curbside pickup until the snow cleared.
"The biggest problem in getting down the back alleys was the snow pack," Baniulis said. "Through a portion of the winter it wasn't a problem but once you get into the latter stages of winter and there were six to nine inches of packed snow, it got to the point where we were starting to touch lines because of the snow pack, and then once it starts to thaw, you can't drive through that snow. We had alleys where we had a truck pulling our truck."
While there has been opposition to the switch, Baniulis is hopeful that residents will approach the change with an open mind and feels it will be more convenient for many homes.
"The biggest one, I think, and it seems lost on people, is the fact that when they have their bag of garbage, they walk to the back lane where the cart sits throughout the week," he said. "To me, it's easier to walk out to the side of your house, put the bag in the cart and once a week roll it to the front."
Despite the many issues facing Estevan, garbage has been one of the most talked about topics since council elected to switch to an automated collection system in 2008. At the time, many residents were upset by the City's lack of consultation with residents as well as the idea of moving their cans in front of their homes.
In an attempt to appease critics, council decided to move forward with automated collection but agreed to stay with back alley collection in applicable areas of the city.
In looking back, Baniulis said the company regrets agreeing to back alley collection, which, at the time, was something they had never done before.
"It was a big mistake," he admitted. "We were fearful that we weren't going to get the contract at all, and we said yes, we'll do it in the back lanes. In hindsight, we would have rather not gotten the contract than to do it in the back. It's something we had never done before. We made the decision and it turned out to be the wrong decision."
Despite their admitted desire to have the whole city on curbside collection, Baniulis said that Regens' proposal for the new contract included pricing for back alley pick up, albeit at a higher price.
"Sometimes I wonder about basing price on the decision because it has turned into Regens is controlling the decision based on price, and frankly, the service is best for the majority of the city in the front," he said. "I guess we used the almighty dollar to help encourage the city to make the decision that we felt was the best service to city residents.
"It's been kind of spun in another way and I understand that people see it that way."
Due in large part to the animosity the garbage controversy has generated, Regens has become a lightning rod for many in the community.
Baniulis said that although the criticism has been frustrating at times, the company is doing its best to work with residents towards a positive outcome.
"I don't expect everybody to be whistling happy with front street pick up and I just wish that people would try and deal in the solution and not in the problem," said Baniulis who added one thing he hasn't been pleased with is the abuse directed towards his staff as well City of Estevan staff.
"Kudos to (Mayor Roy Ludwig) for taking a number of calls and making himself so available. There are some mayors that would have had the administrator take the calls but he's made himself very available. But I just wish people would take a deep breath when they have one of our people in the office on the phone or somebody down at the City. Nobody needs to be belittled over the phone."
Asked about complaints that some residents have raised about the quality of the service and claims their concerns weren't responded to, Baniulis said they want the community to be happy with the service they provide.
"We are up and down these alleys all week with one ton trucks getting carts that were either missed or weren't out. What's gone on in the city of Estevan has shaken our confidence to an extent. We are running around, trying very hard, to give the service that everyone wants and expects and nobody should expect anything less from us. That is what we are hired to do. We work very hard to take every call very seriously."
As has been previously reported, there are a number of streets where curbside collection is not feasible. The City said Monday it will be sending out letters to inform homeowners if their garbage carts will be staying in the back alley.
Along with the switch in garbage collection, Regens is also preparing itself to deliver a new recycling program to Estevan. The new multi-material recycling system will begin this September in the Pleasantdale area of Estevan and then roll out to the remainder of Estevan on Oct. 1.
Under the program, each household will receive a second cart for all recyclables including paper, cardboard, glass jars, plastic, aluminum can and tin cans. The bins will be collected every other week.
Estevan will join a number of other southeast communities that already have recycling programs but Baniulis noted the program here is "head and shoulders" above what they have been providing to those centres.
"We've provided dual stream recycling, which is two carts, one for plastic and tin and one for cardboard and paper. This is one cart for all your recyclables including glass so it is pretty exciting.
"It's a service for the customer. With the single stream it is the best service recycling has to offer that I know of. It's a cart at your curb for all your recyclables. A lot of people that do recycle and use the depot, their complaint is storing the material in their hallways, closets and garages and this should get them away from that. We are expecting a lot of material versus what we get now, it will be ten fold."
Baniulis said the bins will be distributed to homes two weeks before their recycling service is to begin. He added that in the coming weeks Regens and the City will be providing more information on what can and cannot go into the bins and proper cleaning for some items.
