Security camera captures waste bin bill dispute

One Winnipeg entrepreneur is thankful for the security camera watching his waste bin — it caught an intentional bill overcharge, he alleges.

Wallin Industries, a metal fabrication business, recently switched to Waste Management of Canada for waste collection.

A bill came in around $340, said company president Brad Wallin, adding it was a drastic jump from the $60 he was expecting.

Being charged a fee for an overflowing bin, Wallin said his team quickly reviewed company security video.

The footage showed a driver of a Waste Management truck seemingly altering the bin’s contents so pieces were sticking out, he said. “He manipulates the load, basically stages a photo,” Wallin added.

He shared the video footage with the Free Press.

Later, a “substantially different” invoice appeared, with a photo attached of the alleged stuffed bin, Wallin said. The company president said he argued the charge, working his way to Waste Management’s Toronto headquarters, where it offered a credit for his invoice.

Wallin said he had a voicemail from the vice-president of operations he hadn’t yet listened to by midday Wednesday.

Waste Management has investigated and found “the driver made an error in process, causing the overage charge,” spokeswoman Jessica Kropf wrote in a statement.

It was “unintentional,” and Waste Management has since apologized and reversed the overage charge, Kropf continued.

Meantime, Wallin is considering whether to cut ties with the international waste disposal brand.

“Very few people are going to have cameras pointing at their bins, where they’ll have footage to dispute the charge,” he noted. “We were just fortunate enough to have that. If not, we’d be paying the bill.”

Wallin said he’s also “bouncing around the idea” of filing criminal charges against Waste Management.

Waste Management didn’t answer how many similar cases it’s responded to in recent years.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com