Merchants in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Que., decry plan to stop garbage pickup for businesses

Margaux Murray's business in Montreal's West Island makes its own worm compost.

"What we do is, we take our excess cardboard, we shred it, and then I bring my scraps from home and make the worm compost," said Murray.

She owns B Factory, handmade-candle boutique on Sainte-Anne Street in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue — a town that's moving toward increasing composting and cancelling garbage collection for businesses in the process.

If businesses want their garbage picked up, they'll have to pay for it starting May 1. That doesn't sit well with Murray.

"To take away all garbage, there are so many businesses that are not restaurants, I think that's a bit unfair," she said.

Jorge Mendez, owner of Coiffure Studio, agrees with Murray.

"We pay our taxes right? So, we are expecting services from the city especially with the restaurants — they have a lot of garbage. Myself, too."

The municipal council approved the new bylaw as part of an effort to make the town more eco-friendly. The measure has been accompanied by the purchase of brown compost collection bins for businesses.

Restaurants will get larger bins of 240 to 360 litres while other businesses will get 120 litres.

In a letter sent to business owners on Jan. 24, the town's general manager, Martin Bonhomme, says garbage collection in the commercial sector will be curbed as part of the town's effort to change the way it deals with residual materials.

"In fact, over the next few years, the town will promote the diversion of garbage into recycling and mainly into composting for restaurant food waste," the letter says.

"Businesses that require a garbage collection service will have to retain the services from a private company at their expense."

The town is aware that this measure will lead to significant changes in operations and current activities of restaurateurs, the letter said, but these new measures will help improve the short- and long-term results of residual materials management.

Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue hosted an information session for business owners on Wednesday evening, allowing people to ask questions about the new bylaw and better understand what it means.

Mayor Paola Hawa told CBC Daybreak Friday that she understands it's hard for businesses to adjust to sudden change.

"But at a certain point, we have to move forward," she said. "Composting is coming and there is no turning back."

Composting costs more per tonne than waste removal, Hawa said, so this is not about cost-cutting.

LISTEN | Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue restaurateur and mayor on new garbage plan:

She said the city is offering to help businesses by bringing in consultants and offering training and she's willing to discuss a gradual implementation — perhaps after May 1 — or more frequent compost pickups.

"We're not just going to throw them to the wolves," she said. "We're going to guide them the whole way through."

"Change is difficult ... But we have a social responsibility and we need to have the courage to actually change," Hawa said.