Small businesses frustrated by sudden surcharge on garbage collection bills

An increase of almost 30 per cent in what they pay for waste collection isn't sitting right with the owners of some Charlottetown small businesses.

Jessica Fritz of The Gallery Coffeehouse and Bistro and Helena Wood of Cured Creation received notices on their December 2022 monthly bills saying a fuel surcharge would be applied on their next bills "where applicable."

For Fritz, that meant an extra $63.43 on her January bill to have her trash picked up, and an extra $59.07 for February — charges that weren't there before.

She said the notice didn't stand out to her on the December bill, since it appeared in small type under a "notes" heading. 

And Fritz had no idea the surcharge would be 29 per cent.

"There was no formal statement — and also the note says it would be 'if applicable.' It doesn't even outline anything of how it is going to be increased, how it is going to be calculated."

Fritz said neither Island Waste Management Corporation nor the collection contractor, GFL Environmental Inc., has given her a good reason why.

"We certainly do understand that fuel prices increased, but if it increased by 29 per cent, that should just be a proportion of our total billing amount and not an entirely disproportionate add-on to the entire billing amount, basically," she said.

According to the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission's website, the retail price of diesel on P.E.I. is currently $1.98 a litre. One year ago, it was $2.14 a litre.

Cured Creations is also seeing an increase of about 29 per cent to its corporate garbage collection bill.

Wood and Fritz said they are reluctant to pay extra for garbage pick-up by going with a contractor other than GFL, but worry they may have no other option come summer.

"We are going to have to investigate these charges a bit more before I feel comfortable paying them — and they haven't really been helpful. They haven't really come back with any sort of explanation or anything that made sense," said Wood.

In an email to CBC News, Island Waste Management Corporation says it has not increased its fees this year because the province has offset the increased costs it faces due to inflation.

However, GFL Environmental is a separate entity that can decide separately to increase rates.