After a full day and night of debates, Ottawa city council remained deadlocked on the issue of garbage pickup.
Thursday's council meeting discussed the same issue yet again: whether to switch to twice-a-month garbage pickup after the introduction of the green bin in the fall of 2009, or stick with weekly trash pickup.
After debating into the night, there was still no consensus. First, a vote to maintain the weekly pickup was defeated. The alternative, a motion to move to twice-a-month pickup after the green bin is introduced, was also defeated.
Chaos ensued in the council room as people tried to determine what the deadlock meant.
"What we do currently would continue to apply, would it not? Is that not a decision in and of itself?" asked Councillor Rob Jellett.
The mayor also tried to explain the confusion. "My interpretation of this is we have yet to define the time at which we will convert over to bi-weekly if at all," Mayor Larry O'Brien said.
Some councillors remain convinced that once-a-week collection is worth the $1 million that is costs per year.
"The bottom line is we're in the customer service business, and this is a core service," Councillor Jan Harder said.
Others remain set on twice-monthly pick-up.
"In the end, what we'll be doing is we'll be maximizing the diversion, reducing our landfill costs, and, of course, making best use of our new green bin program," said Councillor Peter Hume.
With neither option selected, council will re-evaluate the trash pickup issue on Sept. 10.
With a report from CTV's Natalie Johnson
