As August rolls around, District staff will begin focusing on enforcement related to the clear bag and waste diversion program at the curb.
Renee Recoskie, Director of Waste Management and Environmental Services, told the District Engineering and Public Works Committee on July 23 that staff have been out and auditing seasonal collection routes. “And we’ve been really using that as an educational opportunity and to help share the messaging on the program with those residents that might be back for the first time since the program’s launch.”
She said staff have been noticing significant improvement from the time warning stickers are issued to waste disposal behaviour the following week.
“This will mark the end of those informative education-led efforts on the clear bag program, so in August, we will be transitioning our focus to a compliance focus, and we are being very mindful of when that shift is occurring. We first started talking about this program in July of 2024,” she noted.
Recoskie said there has been a significant change in behaviour at the curb. “A lot of our routes are now at 80 to 90 per cent participation rates. We do have lower participation rates at some of the seasonal routes, so we wanted to make sure we gave enough time.” She said the District has been getting the message out through local resources, signage, and on social media. “But come in August, we will change the tone of that program, and that’s very important to make sure those that have participated have faith that that program is in place and is a requirement.”
She said the options for those whose bags have not been collected will be communicated. “You can take it to the transfer station. There will not be a recollection associated with that bag at the curb.”
Prompted by questions from District Chair Jeff Lehman, Recoskie gave an overview of how compliance is going. She said compared to last year,1300 tons of organics have been diverted. “And why that matters is last year, in the whole year, we diverted at the curb about 1500 tons.”
Recoskie said staff have set a target of diverting 1800 tons of organics at the curb and will communicate to the committee when that goal is reached. “But what we continue to see at the curb, which I think is really important, is about a 40 per cent decrease in the amount of garbage that’s set out in weight and an over 80 per cent increase in the tonnage of organics that are set out.”
The program will roll out to transfer stations in January, starting with education and then transitioning to enforcement. “And our first priority, in the initial phase, just like at the curb, will be making sure that they’re using a clear bag…,” said Recoskie.
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Toronto solutions for Muskoka. Virtue signalling . Even Toronto scrapped the raccoon friendly organic containers. I guess the District got a ‘good deal ‘ on them or consulted Muskoka wildlife. Now we are down to one bag per week from three. More dumping on our side roads. Wish the local governments were as transparent as the clear bags they demand for our garbage. Guess the garbage police will be out. Photos of our politicians garbage bags would be interesting to see.
If the District places the requisite trust in it’s residents to participate in the compostable organic waste and recyclable diversion program there wouldn’t be a need for clear plastic bags. Do you really believe that the clear plastic bags are being adequately inspected when they are being collected? The regulatory requirement for the use of clear plastic bags creates an unnecessary and useless supply of non-clear bags as well as increasing cost to the overburdened tax payers.
I am all for organic collection, but what about cottagers who leave on a Sunday? If they leave their organic waste at the curb until pickup day, which may be several days later, raccoons and bears would have a field day. This would be attracting more wildlife to the curbs, and a mess would have to be cleaned up every time cottagers came up. Bears can break the green bins easily, and raccoons have already figured out how to open them. Please let cottagers know what they should do to solve this problem.