Westmount will keep its weekly garbage pick-up schedule, despite other cities, including Montreal, moving to a biweekly pickup during colder months. Westmount Mayor Michael Stern says that’s what his residents want. His promise was part of his election campaign, and he’s making the changes to the clean-up calendar in his city. During the summer, Westmount has weekly garbage pick-up. Usually, come October, that changes to twice-a-month garbage collection, but not anymore. “People are paying Westmount taxes. They’re forced to hold their garbage every two weeks. People who have diapers say, ‘I cannot compost this,’” Stern said. Stern adds that the city can afford weekly garbage collection year-round. “It’s a negligible cost. We have 5,500 taxpayers, and the additional cost is about $10,000 a month. So it’s $1.80 per household per month,” he said. Some residents who spoke to CTV News say they support the decision. Stern says he wants his residents to carefully sort the things they discard. “Focus on how better to recycle and how better to compost.” He says it’s not that difficult to reduce household waste. “I did a great job with garbage just on my own, and maybe I can be an inspiration to others,” he said, all in an effort to reduce garbage. “For all of us in society to reduce what goes to the landfill. That is a critical thing. The evidence is such that if you look at what people throw out, probably two-thirds don’t have to go to the landfill,” Stern said. Contacted by CTV News, the City of Montreal reports that household collection is done on a weekly basis for all boroughs, with some exceptions. Stern says if citizens make more effort to reduce, reuse, recycle and compost, weekly garbage pick-ups won’t be necessary and fewer people need that service every week.
