Efforts to facilitate garbage chute decommissioning in multi-residential buildings have had modest results in Toronto. A new report to City Council reveals that just 24 permits allowing landlords to seal chutes have been issued over the past 12 years, representing about 57 per cent of the 42 applications that have been submitted to the chute closure program since it was launched in 2010.
“Closing the garbage chute in a multi-residential building has the potential to eliminate the convenience of garbage on every floor and also has the potential to encourage residents to sort and bring their divertible waste for management in Blue Bin and/or Green Bin organics thereby reducing waste sent to landfill,” the report notes. “A chute closure also provides the opportunity for property owners to have greater control over the waste stream by encouraging residents to sort their waste and reduce contamination of the waste streams, and as a result, help to reduce their volume-based solid waste fees.”
Under current rules, a building must receive municipal solid waste collection services and landlords must have appropriate waste diversion receptacles and a tenant communications strategy in place to qualify for the program. City staff conclude the first requirement has been a major obstacle to uptake. Many multi-residential buildings do not meet the specifications for municipal solid waste collection, which prescribe loading facilities, minimum radii for truck turning and emergency route access that often can’t be accommodated in the existing building design and site configuration.
The report outlines possible options for expanding the garbage chute decommissioning program to buildings with contracted solid waste collection services, but also observes there is no funding in the 2022 budget to do so. It’s speculated that more landlords would apply for chute closure permits if buildings with contracted waste collection were allowed to participate.
“In some cases, where a non-permitted chute closure was identified by Municipal Licencing and Standards or where Solid Waste Management Services staff have received chute closure permit requests, waste diversion outcomes were not found to be the main driver. Rather, the closure was in place or being sought due to other operational concerns in the building, such as, but not limited to, pest management and other maintenance reasons,” the report observes.
