City council is thinking about getting rid of amnesty days at the dump to stop losing money and keep the Yellowknife landfill from getting overcrowded.
The municipality has had amnesty days for decades. While people still have to pay for certain surcharge items listed in the citySA国际影视传媒檚 fee bylaw, it waives the regular $16.50 fee for light loads.
The amnesty day held in spring 2023 lasted seven hours and cost the municipality a little more than $33,000, according to city administrators. That amount includes administration work, lost revenue, staff time, equipment use, landfill costs and cleanup.
City administration suggests that ending amnesty days could help offset costs, as the dump is on track for a $1 million deficit this year.
Manager of sustainability and solid waste Chris Vaughn said those days can also be chaotic with a swarm of residents looking to capitalize on the fee-free days. Up to 600 visitors can pour in, increasing the risk of accidents happening at the facility, he told council.
During the meeting, most councillors seemed on board with the city's recommendation to end amnesty days. Outside of council, at least one Yellowknife resident has concerns. Walt Humphries, a longtime Yellowknife resident with his own guest column for NNSL, 'Tales from the Dump,' said he's concerned that, without amnesty days, people will be more incentivized to dispose of their trash elsewhere, which could do further damage to the environment and public safety.
Years ago, amnesty days used to last a week, Humphries noted. Now, the city has them only a couple times a year. That, he said, helps explain why those few days see such a high number of residents.
Using the landfill has also gotten more expensive over time. One notable example includes
"It's a slow erosion and an increased cost to people," said Humphries.
Coun. Stacie Arden-Smith said she's supportive of cutting amnesty days. Whether that would lead to more people finding alternative, environmentally harmful means of getting rid of their junk, she said people are doing that now anyway.
"The people that are throwing it out onto the highways and in the bush are people that really have no care for the community itself," she said.
Arden-Smith added that she understands it can be costly to use the landfill. She said she her family tries to help ease that cost for relatives.
"We don't often have a huge truck full of garbage, but we go around to our family saying, 'Hey, is there something we could pick up for you? We can all work together and put a few bucks together and get one full load out,'" she said. "There are many different ways in which we as a community can work together."
No final decision has been made yet SA国际影视传媒� that will come via a vote at a future council meeting.
The city has three options: cut amnesty days entirely, replace them with a system giving curbside pickup users who pay the solid waste tax one or two free dump vouchers, or continue with business as usual.
