Move to every-other-week collection is expected to save city about $44,000 annually 

By Andrew Philips Orillia Packet & Times

Changes can sometimes lead to confusion and Orillia is no exception to the rule.

A move by the municipality to collect garbage every other week has led to a number of calls to city hall and stickers outlining the change affixed to many garbage bags and containers left by the curb this week.

“This is the first week where we don’t have garbage collection,” said Greg Preston, the city’s manager of waste management.

“We’ve had a number of residents who were not aware of it and we’ve been fielding those calls,” he said, noting the city did a fair amount of advertising and promotion in the weeks leading up to the change.

“Being the first week, not everyone reads the newspaper or listens to the radio. We’d also done a lot of social media promotion.

“Some were aware it was starting (soon), but not aware it was starting this week. It’s not the first thing everybody thinks about.”

While blue-box, green-bin and yard waste will continue to be collected weekly, the move to change to every-other-week waste collection is expected to save the city about $44,000 annually.

“It’s really to encourage residents to use the recycling and compost (bins),” he said, adding everyone benefits if the local landfill’s life is extended as a result of the initiative, which tries to ensure materials that are recyclable or compostables don’t end up getting buried.

But there is a reprieve of sorts for parents of young children since there’s no charge to drop off bagged diapers at the landfill.

And for those not sure of collection dates, Preston pointed out the collection calendar is posted on the city’s website.

“We encourage residents to look at the schedule,” he said, noting residents have also been picking up free calendars available at the city’s waste diversion site (landfill) on Kitchener St.

For tips on how to better compost and recycle, visit orillia.ca/recyclingtips.