WESTLOCK — Uptake for the new landfill permit cards in Westlock County is going well, says ag and environmental services manager Jacolyn Tigert.
She gave the update at the request of Coun. Dennis Primeau during the county’s most recent council meeting April 27, when she added they are about 400 permits short of the target they’d set.
“We find that the permit system is working nicely. We are waiting for obviously a few folks to finish, but for the most part, it’s working well,” Tigert said.
“We have updated all of our contact information, which was extremely important for the county. Also, it gives a chance for folks to buy these permits and to make sure that they have access to an additional one or a replacement one. So things are going well and our residents are very cooperative.”
The new $60 permit card was one of the changes in the draft Budget 2021 that still remained in place since the December deliberations. It allows residents in the county to access all four transfer sites and the Westlock Regional Landfill to dispose of up to 4,000 kilograms of waste per year.
Commercial accounts have since been transferred to the Westlock Regional Waste Management Commission, and the new permits are only meant for residential waste.
The measure was intended to cover the cost of waste management and get rid of the subsidies the county offers for waste disposal. Outside of residential garbage pick-up in the hamlets, county residents did not pay for waste disposal until the adoption of the landfill card.
Earlier in April, councillors also approved a $25 fee for a replacement or second landfill card. So far, Tigert said, no resident has applied for a replacement or second card.
Coun. Lou Hall opposed issuing two cards to a single household, citing fears that some might cheat the system and get cards from their neighbours.
“I had a discussion with a ratepayer this week. When he got his card, he went home and he made photocopies so he could have copies in his vehicle. ... I'm just thinking that there may be other people that are doing that as well,” she said last Tuesday.
Tigert said that transfer site attendants are only accepting cards on a particular kind of card stock and will inform residents of the process to obtain a proper duplicate.
