Why are clear trash bags so controversial? Several Sudbury city councilors oppose proposed change

The City of Greater Sudbury is working to reduce the amount of trash going into local landfills, and while clear trash bags are an effective and affordable way to address the problem, city council has decided to shelve that idea for now.

At a meeting Tuesday, city staff presented the sustainable waste strategy. It is a 10-year plan that aims to work toward “achieving 90 percent solid waste diversion by 2050 and helping move toward the overall goal of net zero emissions.”

Greater Sudbury’s three landfills are currently at about 60 per cent capacity and it would cost about $200 million to replace them all.

The new strategy offers a number of solutions to delay the need to spend that amount of money, including recommending that citizens be required to use clear trash bags.

“The clear bag program will educate low-density residential households and households in multi-residential properties that have a roadside waste collection agreement on how to properly separate waste into trash, recycling and organic streams,” the report states.

“Of all the actions recommended in the (strategy), the clear bag program is expected to provide the greatest return in terms of increased diversion, reduced waste and greenhouse gas reductions.”

But the idea doesn’t sit well with some Sudbury city councilors. They did not reject the proposal outright, but agreed to resume the debate at another time.

Several councilors cited concerns about privacy, as well as the time it would take for people to further sort through their trash. They also said diversion efforts tend to target low-density residential homes, as opposed to apartment buildings, and said they would like measures that require efforts from all residents regardless of their lifestyle.

The strategy recommends the expansion of composting programs to buildings and non-residential buildings.

Councilor Natalie Labbée fears her constituents will lash out.

“We need to give the green bandwagon a little more energy and focus to try to educate people that way instead of, you know, bothering them with this garbage bag thing,” he said.

“I hear it a lot. I’ve gotten I don’t know how many emails today.”

Earlier this year, the idea of ​​using clear trash bags was presented at a meeting of the city’s operations committee. Council members Mike Parent and Pauline Fortin expressed concerns at the time. In September, the two councilors presented a motion Ask staff to look for other options.

Those other options included expanding the city’s composting program and introducing green cart collection at apartment buildings.

However, the idea of ​​clear trash bags was still included in the report and was discussed at Tuesday’s meeting.

Less garbage, more compost

Switching to clear trash bags is not a new concept.

It has been on the books for years in several northern Ontario towns, including Northeast Manitoulin and the Islands and Nipissing Township.

In 2022, the City of Orillia implemented the change to clean trash bags. Greg Preston, director of waste management, said when the change came about, the results were immediate.

“In the first two years of the program, we saw an almost 40 percent drop in the amount of trash placed at the curb by weight,” he said.

“We also saw a big increase, almost 20 percent of green bins and yard waste, such as compostable organic material, are also placed at the curb.”

Preston said there were initially complaints and calls about people worried that their trash wasn’t being picked up or that their neighbors could see what they were throwing away, but that faded over time.