A new flyer delivery bylaw is now in the works, but it will be some time before it comes into effect.
The bylaw would create an opt-in or opt-out model for residents.
Councillor David Hickey’s motion was well supported by his colleagues at Monday night’s meeting.
“This is an important one for me,” he said. “I think that its important that we work together as a community as much as possible to make Saint John a more livable place, to make Saint John a community as focused on livability as possible.”
Hickey says not only would regulating flyer delivery reduce waste and increase livability, it could also save the city some money.
“I did some rough calculation, and I’m estimating—these are my numbers not Mr. (Kevin) Fudge’s (the city’s finance commissioner)—that we spend about $45,000 a year in tipping fees on flyers alone in the city,” he said.
Councillor Donna Reardon says she gets a lot of complaints about flyers from her residents in Ward 3.
“They get left on the doorsteps so there could be like six (bags) there this week, but when they come back on round two the next week, they don’t pick up any. The cost of all that paper going into the garbage, people don’t like the plastic sleeve on them as well. there’s all kinds of issues with it that just are not working for the public,” she said.
Reardon says the build up of flyers could also pose a security risk, putting an easy target on empty homes.
City Manager John Collin says the new bylaw likely won’t be worked on until next spring, as staff are currently busy with budget deliberations.
“Full disclosure, our plate is rather full for the next six months or so dealing with the sustainability challenges. I simply need to ask patience of council. We probably can’t get to this, even start to look at it, for approximately six months,” he said.
In the meantime, city staff will send council’s concerns to Brunswick News, the city’s main flyer distributor.
