Coun. Mike Tobin of the Stephenville town council sees big concerns on the horizon as the proposed cost of tipping fees for waste is projected to take a huge jump.
The current $59 per tonne is expected to rise to about $164 per tonne by July 1, 2018.
The issue was discussed at a meeting of the Bay St. George Waste Management Committee held on Saturday in Stephenville.
Tobin sat in on the meeting as one of the representatives of the Stephenville town council and said for most towns this increase will probably mean close to triple the current costs.
“It will be a big burden for towns on the west coast of the province,” he said.
Tobin said there will have to be many more meetings and discussion on the issue before the increase takes full effect.
He said those discussions will likely centre on whether costs can be reduced or mitigated by reducing the amount of waste that goes into transfer stations before it is eventually sent off to a supersite in Norris Arm.
Tobin said another issue that was discussed at the meeting related to there being two strains of garbage and that in the future people will have to put some of their waste in clear bags and the remainder in tinted bags.
He said the use of the current opaque dark garbage bags will be done away with.
Members of the Bay St. George Waste Management Committee will be meeting soon to have further discussions on the issues.
Meanwhile, election of delegates to the larger Western Regional Committee has been postponed and will take place at a later date.
