A proposed increase in garbage collection fees in Kamloops isn’t sitting well with some people and one city councillor doesn’t know what the big stink is about.

The fees haven’t gone up since 2012, and the increases, as proposed, are relatively small, at $8 for 180-litre bins, $10 for 245-litre bins, and $22 for 360-litre bins. No cost increase is proposed for the 120-litre bins.

Councillor Dale Bass was asked on the NL Morning New if the increase was as much about covering costs as it is about encouraging waste reduction.

“It’s a little bit of both. And to be honest I don’t understand why people are upset about the possibility of having to spend $8 to $22 more a year on a garbage bin, so that we can bring in organics collection and go into composting and things like that.”

As far as people complaining to hity Hall, “I just don’t get it. It’s like you spend more each month on a coffee.”

Bass says part of the reason for the jump is to encourage people to compost, with the city moving towards curbside organic waste pickup in the future.

“We’ve been talking about this for a long time and now we’re starting to put that plan into action. And while a lot of people do their own composting there are more people who don’t and all that stuff just ends up in a landfill. And it would be better if we could divert it into a better process.”

The city is starting a pilot program for curbside compost pick up later this year to a limited number of households, but it’s not expected to go city-wide until the summer of 2023.