The combination of local restaurants responding to COVID with a shift to more takeout service and tourist visits to the Coast seeing a sharp rebound is putting stress on the garbage cans of Gibsons.
In its third quarter report for council’s Oct. 20 committee of the whole meeting, the public works department said it’s had to start emptying the public trash cans seven days a week to keep up with the amount of garbage.
“We believe most of the additional garbage is generated by the influx of visitors as well as the additional COVID-19-related takeout food,” the report said. It also said staff are seeing more incidents of homeowners dumping household trash in the town’s 46 public garbage cans, only 29 of which are animal proof.
“Those takeout containers walk out the door and owners don’t take responsibility for them anymore,” Mayor Bill Beamish said. “Then they call us and say, where’s the garbage cans … so my customers can put my garbage in your bins? I think we have to have a conversation about that.”
Coun. Stafford Lumley, who’s also one of those restaurant owners offering more takeout, said his business uses compostable containers and will take them back when customers are done with them.
“I know we don't have the leverage as a municipality to force businesses to choose that direction but you sure wish that they would,” he said.
Coun. Annemarie De Andrade also championed more education to encourage the public to adopt habits that reduce their need to throw things into the public trash bins.
Daniel Tardif, manager of maintenance and operations, told the committee that the need to empty the trash cans seven days a week will affect the town’s bottom line because the department faces “additional manpower requirements” to keep up.
The impression that the town has been seeing more tourists since the easing of pandemic travel restrictions was backed up by a presentation from Sunshine Coast Tourism at the council meeting later that day that said “compared to recent months and years the [VIC] has received more phone calls and email from visitors.”
Paul Kamon of Sunshine Coast Tourism also told council that short-term rentals have been seeing an occupancy rate of between 85 and 90 per cent.
