Article from Volume 9, Issue Number 2, 2022

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Advocacy: Multi Family Waste Diversion (MFWD) Fees - Spring 2022

By Alan Forbes | Other articles by Alan Forbes | Feature

We wrote to the Standing Policy Committee on Water and Waste, Riverbank Management and the Environment (SPC-WWRME) offering our involvement to come up with a MFWD fee that would be fair and equitable to condo corporations and their unit owners, residents, tenants and investors. We did receive a favorable response from the Committee Chair, Councilor Mayes, and subsequently had a Zoom meeting with him on March 22nd. The meeting was cordial and informative, and Councilor Mayes has since put us in touch with the appropriate City Staff. He indicated he will keep us apprised of any developments, but didn’t expect any meaningful activity until after the fall municipal elections.

On April 7th we had an introductory meeting with City Staff to discuss the MFWD fee and were able to provide the perspective from condominium corporations in regards to the impact of fees, both in the amount and in the timing of future increases. As well, we discussed the diversity of service levels, and the implications of the billing process via the water bill. We also helped them understand the condo market, in terms of the number of corporations (1200+), in terms of sizes (from 2 units up to 778 units), and in terms of types - highrise, lowrise, townhome, bungalow and various combinations thereof.

We did offer to help with communication of information from them to our members, through our newsletter, website and social media channels. To that end, here are a few things of interest:

• If you have missing or damaged bins or need additional bins, or any concerns about your level of service, you can contact 311 by phone or email them at 311@winnipeg.ca
• The City’s Water and Waste Department has a MyUtility page, which has a multitude of useful information including What goes where? Use the Recyclepedia https://myutility.winnipeg.ca/UtilityPortal/RecyclingGarbageYardWaste/whatGoesWhere
• Their user guide is very informative and covers garbage & recycling services, and the 4R depots https://myutility.winnipeg.ca/UtilityPortal/pdf/userGuide/userGuide_EN.pdf

They do have a page explaining the current waste diversion fee, which covers properties up to seven units. The page also mentions the option of getting a reduced fee - “Owners of homes assessed with two to seven dwelling units can apply for a reduction in both the daily waste diversion fee and their recycling and garbage cart collection service, if they are assigned more recycling and garbage carts and service than needed.” https://myutility.winnipeg.ca/UtilityPortal/RecyclingGarbageYardWaste/sp/wastediversionfee

Elsewhere on their website they state “We recommend that you allow 120 litres of recycling volume per dwelling unit.”, and this seems to be the basis for their fee structure.

Overall it was a productive and cordial meeting with both sides speaking openly and listening to the views of others. We agreed to keep in contact and when activity resumes we will regroup for another discussion. Similarly to the comment of Councilor Mayes, they didn’t expect anything of consequence prior to the fall election. Generally they like to provide notice to customers about changes up to a year in advance.

ALAN FORBES
Chair, CCI MB Advocacy Committee