A growing trend popping up around the globe could soon find its way to North Bay city streets. Graffiti artists have been tagging messages and philosophical ruminations on discarded mattresses, often using clever puns or plays-on-words.
The messages appear on unwanted mattresses or box springs in different colours and languages. Often the mattresses are propped up so that passers-by can more easily evaluate the meaning of these often cryptic writings.
With the recommendation at the committee level of North Bay City Council to introduce a $20 levy per mattress, and per box spring, there is a risk that people who would have typically transported their used goods to the Merrick Landfill site will now simply discard them in the streets.
The user fees would "provide for a cost-neutral mattress recycling program. The fee would account for city staff, processing costs, shipping costs to the mattress recycling facility," according to the staff report, as read by Deputy Mayor Sheldon Forgette.
In addition to the introduction of the mattress and box spring charges, tipping fees at the landfill would increase from the current $90/tonne to $93 in 2017 and to $96 in 2018.
Coun. Derek Shogren was supportive of the recommendation but noted that "these fees can't rise forever. We're now at the mid-level of most communities. After tonight, we're sitting at $20 more per tonne than Sudbury."
David Euler, Managing Director Engineering, Environmental Service & Works, indicated that the higher fees in North Bay would help offset the extra $200,000 cost per year that will be incurred when the mandated leachate treatment plant comes online.
"The landfill is an asset, and by having higher tipping fees, it encourages people to recycle more and purchase less disposable materials," said Euler at Monday's public meeting.
Euler continued, "The new program we will hopefully be putting in place should help significantly. I know in August, there was 600 mattresses alone in one month delivered to the landfill, so I think that's a good story."
However, there were no fees for delivering those 600 mattresses to the landfill in August. Will citizens pay to discard mattresses and box springs? Or will mattress artists simply have more work space to ply their trade?
