Curbside Pickup Background

Where we started: It’s time to talk about trash in St. Clements

With beautiful parks and beaches, a great quality of life and some of the lowest taxes in the region, it’s no wonder St. Clements is one of the fastest growing municipalities in Manitoba.

As our community grows, your RM Council is making sure that local services grow with it. That means continued investment in local roads, more recreation options, and a modern approach to waste management, to protect our land, air and water for future generations.

Low recycling rate

Did you know that less than half of St. Clements households are recycling? And despite some recent progress in recycling rates, the average household in St. Clements only recycles about a third as much as the provincial average.

We can do better. We know improvements to our current waste management system would make recycling easier and more convenient for you and your neighbours – that’s why it’s time we talked trash.

Council hired an independent engineering firm to conduct a technical analysis of our current system, identify required improvements at the landfill and transfer stations, and determine the risks of delaying action. The study will recommend practical solutions to modernize our waste management system and ensure it’s sustainable and effective.

Let’s Talk Trash Survey

In October 2016,we told you it was time to talk trash, and asked for your ideas on how to make our waste management system better – and you delivered! 476 of you took our Let’s Talk Trash survey.

  • 67% of you thought we needed to reduce the amount of trash, including recycling, that ends up in our landfill, even if there was a (reasonable) cost
  • The surveys said 67% of folks south of road 83 north would like to see curbside garbage and recycling pickup.
  • Curbside pickup had strong support in the southern part of the RM and less in the north
  • Most of you were okay with a reduction in transfer station services if curbside pick up was implemented
  • Transfer stations are most important to residents north of Hwy #4
  • Composting curbside pick up is unnecessary as many people already compost
  • Most said curbside pick up fees should be paid only by homes that receive the service

Next Steps

Curbside pickup would be the largest service increase in the history of the RM, so we are moving carefully and waiting for your feedback. It’s expected that the cost will range between $60 and $100 per household. The plan is that only the homes within the service area would be charged. At this time, there is no decision on the future of the transfer stations. If curbside pickup is implemented, we will monitor transfer station use to determine whether any changes are warrantedThe next step is for us to get some prices from curbside pickup contractors. We then will price out a few service packages and survey residents on which service package they prefer. Be sure to sign up for email updates with us so we can send you the survey – you can sign up on the home page of our website, in the left-hand column.

Residents who live outside of the service area will see no change in service levels although some transfer station safety upgrades will occur.