Garbage contract raises ire of city councillor

Aveteran city councillor says she's concerned about garbage giant BFI Canadahaving a near-monopoly on trash pickup in Winnipeg.

Coun. Jenny Gerbasi (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry) said Thursday it's anti-competitive to award the Toronto-basedcompanya sixth contract for residential garbage pickup in the city.

City hall'scommittee on infrastructure renewal and public works is holding a special meeting at 9 a.m.Fridaytodiscuss and vote onawarding themore than $13 millioncontract to BFI which would be in placeuntil 2017, city documents said.

BFI currently holds five of seven residental garbage contracts for the city.

And while city managers are recommending the newcontract be approved,Gerbasi said awardingBFI another contractflies in the face of the city's decision to completelyfarm out allgarbage pickup to private companiesyears ago.

City-run crews made their last trash collections in 2005.

Thereasoning behind privatization ofgarbagepickupwas thatit would improve the city'sbottom linethrough cost-savings and increased competition.

"If there's one company, where's the competition that we were supposed to have by contracting out?" Gerbasi wondered. She does not sit on the committee set to vote Friday morning.

City documents show BFI was the lowest bidder of five private companies for the contract, which covers trash collection in the north-west part of Winnipeg.

Currently, Texas-based company Waste Management of Canada conducts trash removal in the area.

But Darryl Drohomerski, the city's manager of solid waste services, said Gerbasi's concerns about BFI having astranglehold on garbage pickup are unfounded.

"There's lots more players on the national level that also bid on this work. So we fully expect lots more competition in the future," Drohomerski said.

Even if the infrastructure renewal and public works committee votes Fridayto award the contract to BFI, city guidelines mean it must still pass through a full council vote.

Garbage carts to be part of BFI deal

The contract would also see 42,500 homes in the contract'scatchment areabe outfitted with garbage carts on wheels that would be rolled to the front curb or lane on garbage pickup days.

The carts would replace traditional garbage cans and save the city money because they can be emptied by one person operating a truck designed specifically to lift and dump them.

It would cost the city $2 million to supply one cart to each of the homes targeted for the pilot project.

In city documents, the four councillors sittingon the committeewith Mayor Sam Katz were presented with the following chart outlining the pros and cons of thegarbage cart system: