In the News

SUN: Vancouver and Surrey to seek online voting

By Jeff Lee, Vancouver SunJanuary 12, 2011 12:01 AM

METRO VANCOUVER - The two largest municipalities in British Columbia are looking at the possibility of allowing voters to cast their ballots over the Internet in November’s civic election.

Both Vancouver and Surrey councils next week will discuss what it will take to bring in so-called evoting for the next election.

“We’re at the point now in Internet technology that it is worth considering,” said Vision Vancouver Coun. Andrea Reimer, the sponsor of a motion calling for an online voting pilot project in Vancouver.

COURIER: Recycling company calls for mattress ban at landfills

New dumping fee targets mattresses and box springs

By Sandra Thomas, Vancouver CourierJanuary 5, 2011

The co-owner of a company dedicated to recycling mattresses wants Metro Vancouver landfills, including the South Vancouver Transfer Station, to ban them all together.

"They should be treated the same as prohibited substances like drywall or batteries," said Zac Plavsic, who in 2008 launched Burnaby-based Mattressrecycling.ca with business partners Fabio Scaldaferri and Trent Robillard.

Plavsic hopes a new fee to dump old mattresses or box springs at the transfer station or the Vancouver landfill in Delta introduced by the City of Vancouver last week will encourage more residents to recycle. As of Jan. 1, an additional $20 will be charged for mattresses, which will no longer be considered general garbage. If a mattress is dropped off at the transfer station or the Vancouver landfill, it must be kept separate from other garbage so it remains clean and can be recycled. Up to four mattresses per customer will be accepted at the transfer station and a maximum of eight per customer at the landfill.

When Plavsic and his partners discovered between 100,000 and 150,000 mattresses are dumped annually in Metro Vancouver, they were concerned about the huge amount of space they take up in landfills due to the fact they can't be compacted. Mattressrecycling.ca charges $55 to pick up a mattress from a residence plus an additional $14 to recycle it. Or they can be dropped off at their facility on North Fraser Way for $14. Box springs are an additional $14 to recycle.

Also effective Jan. 1 in Vancouver, clean wood waste, including unpainted, unstained and untreated solid plywood, particle board and oriented strand board will now be accepted at $63 per tonne, the same rate as yard trimmings. Clean wood waste will be composted rather than dumped in the landfill.

Vision Vancouver Coun. Andrea Reimer said mattresses and wood waste are being targeted because they make up such a large amount of what ends up in landfills. In 2006, the total waste generated in Metro Vancouver was 3.4 million tonnes, with 1.5 million tones disposed. Of that, 350,000 tonnes was made up from wood waste.

"The wood waste we are targeting accounts for about 100,000 tonnes," said Reimer.

She added the rest of the wood waste comes from demolition, which will require changes to building permits before it can be properly recycled. Reimer noted the city is working on a pilot de-construction program for 2011 to research how to handle wood waste more effectively.

Reimer said mattresses were targeted because of their bulk, weight and the fact they're almost 100 per cent recyclable or compostable.

Asked if the new $20 charge for mattresses might encourage more residents to discard them in alleys, Reimer said, "That's always a concern. The challenge is often having a vehicle large enough to deal with a mattress, but now there are companies out there that will take them away for you and we hope residents will turn to those services."

Visit metrovancouver.org for pick up and drop off options for recycling mattresses.

sthomas@vancourier.com

Twitter:@sthomas10

SUN: Vancouver city council takes stand against Internet metering

By Jeff Lee, Vancouver SunDecember 16, 2010

Vancouver city is asking the federal government to ban "Internet metering" and usage-based billing, which they say will restrict the freedom of the Internet.

The position, adopted Thursday, expands on the city's initial opposition to a Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission ruling recently that allows Bell to charge its industrial buyers of its bandwidth extra if they go over a cap.

The city is still opposing that ruling, which is in an appeal period ending next month. But Vancouver councillors unanimously expanded their opposition to include a concern that the general concept of usage-based billing, or so-called "Internet Traffic Demand Management" will eventually filter down to the average consumer and will stifle creativity and access.

"The idea of metering individual users, residents of the city, businesses in the city, even the city itself, is going to solve the problem of heavy users is a false argument," said Coun. Andrea Reimer, whose initial motion of appealing the CRTC ruling sparked the wider decision. "I think we haven't had a debate about where broadband comes from or how we access it or how much we pay for it."

NEWS 1130: Vancouver councillor fights for undeterred Internet access

Andrea Reimer wants to see usage-based Internet billing imposed by the CRTC overturned

• Yuliya Talmazan
• 2010/12/10

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - If you browse a lot, you are probably well aware some Internet providers can now charge you extra for using too much bandwidth.

Vancouver councillor Andrea Reimer has put forward a motion to reverse CRTC's decision to impose so-called "Internet metering."

She says the policy puts a damper on the innovative uses of the Internet. "We have significantly more people now who access city council by watching it live, or watching the video clips of it. Video and audio are the two things that will be very much disadvantaged by usage based billing."

Reimer says it goes against the idea of universal access, "We're really careful how we use our cell phones, because of the way our cell phone packages work. Now imagine being that careful about your email and your Internet use, because you're now on this meter based billing system."

She says if council votes in favour of overturning usage-based billing on Tuesday, we'll become the first city in Canada to do so.

COURIER: Councillors eschew VANOC gift bag

Coun. Anton accepts Olympic gear

 

By Mike Howell, Vancouver CourierDecember 10, 2010

 

 Thanks, but no thanks.

That was the response by several city councillors who refused to accept free Olympic gear worth about $350 from the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Winter Games and Paralympics.

VANOC shipped packages containing a jacket, toque and T-shirt--the uniform of volunteers--to councillors in May. Councillors who disclosed the gifts in documents filed at city hall estimated the worth of the gear at $350 to $375.

Vision Vancouver councillors Geoff Meggs, Andrea Reimer and Kerry Jang say they returned the gifts while NPA Coun. Suzanne Anton kept hers and Vision Coun. George Chow donated his to Strathcona community centre for a fundraiser. "It all arrived as a bit of surprise," Meggs said. "I don't want to seem not appreciative but I didn't need it and it was clearly a gift--not that it would have had any consequences because VANOC was disappearing as an organization. I just didn't need it, so I sent it back."

SUN: Vancouver councillor Andrea Reimer to oppose Internet billing by usage

Ruling in May allowed usage-based billing by Bell Canada

 

By Jeff Lee, Vancouver SunDecember 9, 2010

VANCOUVER - If Vancouver Coun. Andrea Reimer has her way, large telecom providers like Bell Canada will have to stop billing independent Internet service providers based on their usage, which she argues is impeding competition in Canada's hot online business.

On Tuesday Reimer will introduce a motion asking the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to reverse a decision it made in May allowing usage-based billing by Bell Canada and a subsidiary.

That decision has been attacked by independent service providers and online access providers across the country as bad for diversity of business because it will force wholesale buyers of broadband from big telecom companies to pass the charges downstream to users rather than allow for competition based on demand.

"This is a step backwards," she said. "It just absolutely stifles innovation, creativity, access, all of the things the Internet promises."