Highlands residents littered with questions about garbage carts

Questions from the public continue to linger about the Grey Highlands shift to a bin/cart system for garbage and recycling collection.

On Dec. 1, Grey Highlands held a virtual public information session to gather input about updates to the municipality’s waste collection and mandatory recycling diversion bylaw. The full bylaw can be found here.

The changes are coming forward to accommodate the decision to switch the municipality to a cart/bin collection system for garbage and recycling. The new system will begin on Jan. 2, 2023.

The current system of garbage and recycling collection will cease and the new bin/cart system will begin. Every eligible residence in the municipality will have two bins (one for garbage and one for recycling) delivered to their home. Residents will place garbage and recycling material in their respective bins, which will be picked up by a special collection truck at the end of their lane/driveway. The collection will be done by Waste Management Corporation of Canada on a biweekly basis, with collection day staying the same. The wheeled carts are part of an automated system that involves an arm on the truck picking up and emptying the bins, instead of them being manually lifted by a truck operator.

The municipality’s current bag tag system for garbage will be discontinued. Municipal staff are currently working on a phase-out plan for bag tags.

The virtual meeting was well attended and generated many questions and comments from the public. Most of the questions were focused on the logistics and implementation of the new cart/bin system.

Director of Environmental Services Shawn Moyer conducted the meeting and fielded questions from the public. Moyer said the draft bylaw would go to council for consideration on Dec. 7.

“Council does have the final say on what the bylaw limitations and restrictions will be,” he said.

Moyer said the municipality and Waste Management are currently working on delivering the carts/bins.

“We are excited to move this way and allow our residents to use this type of service,” said Moyer.

Many of the questions from the public during the virtual meeting focussed on private roads in areas that may not be accessible to the collection truck. Moyer explained that on private roads where end-of-laneway pick-up is possible, residents will receive the carts/bins and collection and the new system will proceed. In some areas where that is not possible, Grey Highlands and Waste Management are working on common collection areas that will see large front-end bins used to collect garbage and recycling. Moyer said those areas would be contacted directly about how those systems would work.

Residents also asked if there are rules in place for how garbage and recycling material is put inside the bins for collection. Moyer said there are no requirements for certain bags to be used and recycling material can be placed loosely in the bin as well. He also noted that there are no changes expected to the type of material being collected.

One resident asked how the recycling material would be sorted once it was collected.

Moyer explained that Waste Management has a single-stream collection system for recycling.

“Their facility sorts the recycling into separate streams that allows them to process it,” he said. “They have their own facility to sort it. They are one of the bigger contractors and they have some pretty neat equipment.”

Moyer was also asked if the bins are “varmit-proof.”

“They are a very good, sturdy bin. They can keep out most of our small [vermin],” said Moyer.

Another resident raised concerns about the waste bylaw treating a multi-residential unit with eight or fewer living units the same as a single-family dwelling, meaning it would receive one set of bins/carts. Moyer said staff would include that concern in their report to council to be considered on Dec. 7.

Grey Highlands will hold an in-person information session about the new bin/cart system for waste and recycling on Dec. 15 at the Kinplex in Flesherton ast 6:30 p.m. Moyer said representatives from Waste Management would be at the meeting to answer questions about the new collection system.