Carbonear councillors like the clear bag

By Mark Squibb

December 29, 2023

The Eastern Regional Service Board’s (ERSB) implementation of a clear bag policy beginning January 1 had members of Carbonear council saying some residents have been left confused by the announcement.

“There seems to be a little bit of confusion out in the community on the clear garbage bags,” said councillor Peter Snow. “A lot of people are thinking that what you used to be able to put into your black garbage bags, you can’t put into your clear bags.”

That’s not the case.

Chief Administrative Officer Cynthia Davis explained that people can continue putting out their garbage as they have always done, and the only difference is that they need to substitute clear bags in place of black bags.

Davis also noted each household is allowed to put out one black ‘privacy’ bag per week.

“If you only put out one bag and you want it to be a privacy bag, you can continue to put out your one black bag,” said Davis. “But any more than the one has to be clear, up to a maximum of six. But other than that, you still put out your garbage the same as normal, and your recyclables the same as you always did. The only difference is the colour of the bag.”

Councillor Danielle Doyle said she had spoken with a family member who lives in St. John’s about the matter. St. John’s implemented its clear bag policy over a year ago.

“I asked them what was the difference going from the black garbage bags to the clear garbage bags and they’re response was, ‘The kind of box they buy at the grocery store,” said Doyle.

Councillor Snow pointed out that besides the environmental benefits, towns reap economic benefits when their residents recycle.

 “The charge for dumping recyclables is a lot lower than dumping household garbage,” said Snow. “So, there are savings there, and if you want to possibly lower taxes a little bit, recycle.”

The Robin Hood Bay Landfill charges a tipping fee of $89 per metric tonne for regular waste and $27 per metric tonne of recyclables.

“That’s significant,” said Doyle. “I don’t know why we wouldn’t try to recycle more to keep costs down.”

Those rates are set to increase to $90.75 and $28.75 respectively starting April 1, 2024.

Deputy Mayor Sam Slade said the clear bags can add an extra level of protection for workers as they can see whether there are dangerous materials, such as needles, in the bags they’re dealing with. He said the Town is working to increase recycling rates by residents.