The city could reduce the amount of trash it sends to local landfills by picking up recyclable paper and containers from Ottawa businesses, but not for free, staff say.

Staff briefed city councillors Thursday on options to reduce the one million tonnes of institutional, commercial and industrial waste sent to city landfills.

Unlike household waste, trash from most businesses and institutions, including schools, offices and restaurants, is not picked up by the city, but by private waste companies hired by the organizations.

Trash from those groups comprises 70 per cent of the garbage dumped in city landfills. Only 17 per cent of their waste is recycled or composted.

Other staff options in the report, produced from a survey of 80 small businesses, include banning organic materials in landfills and licensing waste companies.

Kitchissippi Coun. Christine Leadman argued against the recycling fee option, saying small businesses already pay a recycling fee on their tax bills, even though they no longer receive recycling services.

"Now, we're saying we want you to pay on top of that," she said. "So how many levels are they going to tax small business?"

Felice Petti, the city's manager of environmental programs and technical support, said the existing recycling fee is intended to cover the cost of recycling packaging and products that people buy from small businesses and then throw in their blue boxes at home.

The new fee would cover the cost of a new recycling truck to serve Ottawa businesses.

A public forum on the options is scheduled for Friday afternoon at the Nepean sportsplex.