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Warden’s column – Simcoe Waste Management changes

March 13, 2013   ·   0 Comments

Major changes are coming to curbside waste collection services in the County of Simcoe effective April 1, 2013. Simcoe County residents have now received a copy of the Managing Your Waste newsletter in the mail detailing these changes and providing a schedule of open houses being hosted throughout the County during the month of March.

I’d encourage all residents to attend an open house to learn more about how these waste collection changes impact our communities. Residents who attend will have the opportunity to find out when their new collection day is (including expanded leaf and yard waste collection days), print out a personalized waste collection calendar, and speak directly with Solid Waste Management staff about how the changes will impact specific communities.

For those who can’t attend an open house, the County’s website simcoe.ca has been updated with important information regarding these waste collection changes. The website also has an excellent online tool to help residents understand their new collection schedule simply by typing in their address. Find out your new collection schedule, receive a personalized calendar, and sign up for optional reminders all from the comfort of your own home.

I am very pleased with the waste collection changes being implemented County wide because they will increase service levels to the majority of our residents, provide uniformity of services across the County, divert more waste from landfill, and save $2.1 million per year through increased efficiency.

As of April 1, residents can look forward to nine leaf and yard waste collections (four collections in the spring and five collections in the fall), improved holiday collections, two separate Christmas tree collections (bi-weekly) in January that will reduce weather-related collection impacts and provide more flexibility, a new user-pay call-in bulky waste collection service of up to five items each time, increased access to curbside collection for cottage areas, and enhanced customer service through real-time GPS tracking devices installed on each collection vehicle to ensure customer service representatives receive up-to-the-minute information on collection status and potential delays.

These improvements also have significant environmental benefits, such as a new collection fleet powered by Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), which produces fewer toxic pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions. CNG trucks produce 75 per cent lower carbon monoxide emissions and 95 per cent lower particulate matter emissions. The new user-pay call-in bulky collection service will allow the diversion of approximately 60 per cent of the material normally collected in a bulky service, which currently only diverts four per cent of material collected.

These changes affect residents living in the 16 Simcoe County municipalities only; these changes do not affect residents who reside in the City of Barrie or City of Orillia.

Although these changes to curbside waste collections will significantly benefit Simcoe County residents, change rarely occurs without a period of adjustment and I’d like to thank you for your patience during the transition period. Should you encounter any issues with your waste collection, our Customer Service Department would be happy to assist you. They can be reached at 1-800-263-3199, 705-735-6901, or by emailing info@simcoe.ca

By Cal Pattern Warden, County of Simcoe

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