Trash changes leaving some residents at the curb

by Brad Pritchard Alliston Herald Mar 27, 2013  

At Tuesday’s county council meeting MacEachern noted his concerns about next week’s waste collection changes, citing an issue about a 48-plus-unit condo complex in Tottenham that won’t be able to use the county services because of collection limitations.

“They’ve had (county) garbage collection and recycling pickup there for a number of years, as long as anyone can remember,” he said. “With the new rules that have been developed, they would now be excluded from that service. So we’ve been in discussion with the county to try to resolve that issue.”

MacEachern called the collection limitations “drastic.”

“They would be allowed one garbage bag, plus I think two of the rolling recycling bins and four of the compost bins,” he said, adding they would also be able to buy a limited number of additional tags.

He said there are commercial properties in Alliston with residential units above that are also being affected by the changes. If the issues can’t be worked out with the county, the developments will have to look at hiring private waste collectors.

“This is all about people who got the service before who can’t get it now,” MacEachern added.

Yesterday, Simcoe County Solid Waste Management director Rob McCullough said waste collection offerings are limited for businesses and commercial units because the system was designed to collect trash from single-family homes. Despite its limitations, with county council’s direction he said the service was opened up to businesses and townhouse complexes.

To help resolve the issues, McCullough said a report will be brought to an upcoming corporate services meeting that will show the impact from the change in services. It will also include what options are available to municipalities.

Essa Mayor Terry Dowdall has also voiced his dissatisfaction over the revised waste program, even going as far to ask whether the township could opt out of the county program and use its own contractor.

At the county council meeting, he was told under current legislation that wouldn’t be possible.

In New Tecumseth, MacEachern said there have been more complaints from people being excluded who up until now have been doing a good job recycling and trying to divert as much waste as possible to landfills.

“If the county proceeds with not allowing them to participate and forcing them to get commercial bins, then all the garbage and everything gets thrown out,” he said. “It moves away from everything we are trying to do, and that’s to divert as much stuff from landfills.