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Loose litter and roaming receptacles could soon be history for some businesses in Windsor’s core.
New 95-gallon garbage bins with locked lids have been distributed to as many as 25 downtown businesses, kicking off a one-year pilot program aimed at better managing waste and keeping the long-neglected neighbourhood clean.
Blowing trash is “a huge issue downtown,” said Ward 3 Coun. Renaldo Agostino, who represents the area. Scavengers, wind, and over-filled bins are to blame.
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“There are a lot of reasons for what we see here, but this is a solution that really can hit all the marks to make things better.
“It’s not something that’s going to be a big-time game-changer, but it’s another small step. When you add up those small steps, that’s when you get success.”
The pilot is part of Windsor’s Strengthen the Core program, a seven-part, $4.2-million strategy to revive the long-struggling neighbourhood. Council-approved funding for the strategy includes $1 million for capital expenses, a slice of which covered the purchase of 125 special bins at $70 each ($8,750).
The bins have gravity locks that only open with a key, or when the bins are flipped upside down — a simple feat for a garbage truck, but a difficult one for an individual looking to rifle through rubbish.
Because the lock only works when the lid is fully closed, business owners won’t be able to overfill the bins.
The businesses given bins so far are already part of the Downtown Windsor Business Improvement Association’s Curb the Trash program, which sees garbage bins chained and locked up to prevent bin theft and vandalism. Waste collectors have the keys and re-lock the bins once collection is complete.
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“This takes (Curb the Trash) a whole lot further, and it is truly going to be incredibly impactful to our alleyways, to our member businesses,” said Debi Croucher, the DWBIA’s executive director.
“Not only now do they not lose their bins to theft, but they don’t have any of the rummaging and the debris that is often in alleyways.”
Businesses that are part of the garbage bin lock program can contact the BIA to receive a new rollout cart that locks closed for free.
Jim Leether, the city’s manager of environmental services, said the city will expand the program to other parts of the city if the pilot is deemed successful.
“We’re really keen on helping to clean up the downtown core. The environmental services department is down here six days a week doing work in the core, mostly on midnight shifts. We do a lot of unseen work.
“We want to put our best foot forward in helping the city have its best foot forward with a clean and vibrant downtown.”
The program’s success will be judged visually, Agostino said.
“You’ll be able to walk downtown and not see garbage flying all over the streets anymore.
“In the long run, it could save money, because if I’m not having to pay people to go out there constantly cleaning the streets, because the system is working, because garbage doesn’t fly out and it’s collected, it’s a better solution.”
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