When services previously performed by the public sector are contracted out to private companies, whose mandate is to maximize profits, the quality of services always decreases.
Currently, CUPE 759 collects from 20,000 households in the CBRM and they are already fielding complaints from residents who are unhappy with the collection performed by their private garbage collector, who service the remaining households within the CBRM. Residents have complained of late pick up, garbage collectors throwing their recycling and garbage into the same place, and practices that don’t follow health and safety guidelines.
The council’s logic is that, with the landfill in Sydney nearing its capacity, it will be cheaper to contract out garbage collection and transfer the waste elsewhere. There is no evidence that contracting out saves money. In fact, the opposite is true. Heavy waste garbage collection in the CBRM has increased nearly $100,000 since 2020 under private contracts and Port Hawkesbury reported a $134,000 surplus after returning to a public service model for snow removal in 2015.
Public services cost less, are more efficient, and better quality.
