Simcoe County councillors approve size swap out for garbage carts

In a recorded vote Oct. 26, Simcoe County councillors agreed to allow residents to swap out the size of their garbage carts sooner than later.

The cart exchanges will be available to residents in late January/early February.

At a special council meeting, council approved an expedited exchange process for the new garbage carts — which launch Nov. 1 to all residents, except for people in Barrie and Orillia.

A pilot program testing smaller carts is also taking place in Green Briar and Briar Hill in New Tecumseth.

“I’m pro-cart, I look forward to it as a taxpayer and a councillor,” Collingwood Deputy Mayor Keith Hull said. “I think the vast majority are embracing it, and those with concerns, it’s the size of the cart.”

He said residents in condos or townhouses want an option to have smaller bins.

“I take responsibility, I voted in favour of something that’s not working for everyone.”

“We aren’t a one-size-fits-all county,” Bradford West Gwillimbury Deputy Mayor James Leduc said.

He questioned why the initial decision on picking cart size didn’t include feedback from the county’s accessibility committee.

A recorded vote saw the decision to allow exchanges pass in an 18-12 vote, with several councillors who voted against the option noting they were in favour of starting the new automated collection system first, and reviewing cart sizes next summer.

The decision not only means hiring more staff to work at Service Simcoe Contact Centre, but it means paying extra for other resources until the initial influx of exchanges is complete.

Staff estimates the impact of allowing exchanges will be between $2-$3.9 million in the first year, and an annual cost of $1 million.

County staff told councillors it is anticipated between 5 to 12 percent of residents will ask for a size exchange.

Currently, the bins delivered to residents are a 240-litre sized garbage cart, an organics/compost size is 120 litres and the recycling cart is 360 litres.

The plan is to give residents the option to exchange those for a 240-litre recycling cart and 120-litre carts for both garbage and composting. However, council also approved allowing residents to pick a 120-litre recycling cart as well.

The exchange will be free for residents until July 2022, after which there will be a $50 delivery fee per cart. New residents will be allowed a free exchange still.

Residents can also have one cart exchange annually at the cost of $50 per cart.

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