In May City Council approved the creation of a licensing category under the City’s Business Licensing Bylaw for donation bins.
Effective July 1, 2015, anyone operating a donation bin will be required to obtain a business licence and once licensed, they will need to comply with a number of regulations including obtaining permission of the property owner before placing the bin, posting signage on the bin indicating to residents where their donation will go and ensuring routine maintenance of the bin and surrounding area is conducted. To provide bin owners, including charities time to obtain a licence and comply with the regulations, a grace period of one month prior to commencement of enforcement is being provided.
Enforcement is slated to begin August 3, 2015 and at this time, Bylaw Compliance staff will begin the process of removing and disposing of unlicensed bins from both public and private land, in an attempt to reduce the number of bins that will need to be removed by the City. Starting in June Bylaw staff will begin posting notices on all bins affected by the new regulations. These notices will provide general information on the new regulations but will also encourage owners of bins which will not meet the regulations to have them removed by July 1. Ads will also be posted in the papers alerting residents/bin owners of the new regulation and an on-line reporting option will be made available to the public so that concerns may be made directly to Bylaw staff.
If you have any questions on this matter, please feel free to contact the City’s Bylaw Compliance office at (519) 836-7275.