They say you want to start things off on the right foot.  Monday night was the first real meeting for our new members of Moose Jaw City Council after being sworn in last week and the meeting saw some swearing of its own, but it had nothing to do with promising to uphold the law.

Recycling was the hot topic as a minor report from the Environment Committee sparked a heated debate on the process of whether we should adopt curbside recycling. Like the multiplex, automated garbage collection and the smoking bylaw before it, recycling has been a divisive topic. Some say we need it to keep up with the times and save the environment. Others argue it's too expensive for a community of our size, especially when there are private contractors who already provide the service to residents at an affordable rate.

The Environment Committee has been working on the issue for years and presented a report to councillors this past summer. In their regular report to council Monday night, the committee outlined a plan to hire a consultant to work with the Engineers Department of City Hall to further explore cost and roll out of a program.  The committee has set aside $4500 for the work with the hope of having more information for residents when they host public consultations in January.

The debate started with newly elected councillor Patrick Boyle who questioned why the committee needs a business plan for an operation that still hasn't been approved. "I'm just confused. We haven't decided what that is have we? So, how can we develop a business plan for something that hasn't been decided. Maybe this is me being new."

Listen to the entire debate

Councillor Don Mitchell explained that an original report that was completed on curbside recycling was deficient of information about cost for the program so the committee decided that more information was needed before public consultations. City Manager Garry McKay expanded on what Mitchell said, explaining more information was needed but staff at City Hall is stretched too thin so the Environment Committee offered to hire a consultant to help gather that information.

But that only expanded the debate as Councillor Dawn Luhning questioned why the Environment Committee needs to spend another $4500 on business plan when they just received what was supposed to be a full report on cost and implementation. She also suggested the committee has a goal in mind and they are moving toward a city wide program that is operated by city staff.

"Two years ago, when the chair of the committee stood at that podium and told me 'No, we are not going down the track of (handling) curbside recycling in the City of Moose Jaw' and now here we are."

"I know that is in the purview of the committee." continued Luhning. "They feel that the City of Moose Jaw and the taxpayers can do that business better than a private business."

In the initial report, the basic idea was outlined to utilize a single stream approach to recycling, where each home is given a bin and you can just toss in any material that is on a list of approved recyclables.  The bins would then be taken to a sorting centre and the materials would be separated and then shipped to processors. The capital costs for purchasing vehicles and equipment was estimated to be around $2 million with a monthly cost estimate of $9 per home, according to Councillor Mitchell following the presentation of the report.

The other option outlined in that report presented this summer was for the city to hire a private company to do the work and then pay them for the service.  Crown Shred out of Regina is already picking up recyclables from Moose Jaw every week and has expressed some interest. At the time of the report, they charged $12 a month for residential customers with nearly 800 people taking part in Moose Jaw.

Councillor Brian Swanson echoed the comments of Councillor Luhning, saying this information should have been included in the first report that the city spent thousands of dollars on. "The original consultants report was what, eight months late? Ten month late? A year late?"

"It was supposed to have this information in it and I see something like that and it starts to bother me that maybe the committee has too much money... I think they have a budget of $50,000 that doesn't require the approval of council. There were several delays that had nothing to do with council."

Mitchell showed frustration during the debate, shuffling papers and huffing during presentations from fellow councillors. "I really think it's insulting to the work of the committee. Granted, there have been delays that are total frustration for them, as well as all of us, but it's insulting to suggest that they have landed (on a decision) and are taking away the choices that they trying to put together and present."

Mitchell's frustration came to a head when he muttered offensive language during an address from Councillor Luhning.  Mayor Deb Higgins quickly asked for an apology and Mitchell immediately retracted his comments.