GUELPH – Starting next year, organic waste pickup will be added to the curbside service provided by Wellington County’s solid waste services division.
County council has approved a recommendation to add green bin service to the current collection program, beginning in July 2020.
The move to green bins is part of a series of changes the county is implementing in a new contract with Waste Management Services of Mount Forest approved at the June 27 meeting.
Solid waste services (SWS) committee chair Gregg Davidson outlined a committee report on the results, analysis and recommendation of a request for proposals (RFP) for curbside collection of waste and recyclables.
The new contract, which begins July 1, 2020, will implement several changes and additions to the current collection program.
Standardized collection frequency for both urban and rural households will be implemented; recyclables and organics will be collected weekly, while user-pay bagged garbage will be collected every other week.
Materials will be collected on both sides of all roads (in driveway). Previously, material was collected only on one side of the road in rural areas.
Collection vehicles will be a fleet of trucks fueled by compressed natural gas, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions and improves air quality, with the added benefit of being quieter vehicles.
Councillors agreed to move to green bins and switch to natural gas vehicles as part of a seven-year contract that includes three one-year options.
Waste Management’s bid was the lower of two submitted. Both bidders submitted tenders on three collection options:
– status quo (collection of recyclables and bagged garbage weekly in urban areas and biweekly in rural areas);
– standardized weekly collection, both urban and rural; and
– weekly urban and rural recycling and organics and biweekly urban and rural waste.
Council’s decision to utilize natural gas-powered vehicles raises the cost of the of the selected third option in Waste Management’s bid to $5,155,357, from the $4,956,228 bid for the service using regular diesel-powered trucks.
The competing bid from Green For life on the same level of collection service with natural gas vehicles was $5,585,349.
Councillor Doug Breen said if reducing greenhouse gas emissions is part of the reason for moving to organics collection, “there’s no way those belching diesels going up and down the road make any sense.”
A motion from councillor Jeff Duncan to open negotiations with the successful bidder to split the cost of the more environmentally-friendly vehicles was discussed briefly, but withdrawn after Warden Kelly Linton called a recess to consider new information.
“The county is excited to bring a green bin organics collection program to our residents,” Linton said.
“It is a forward thinking service that aligns well with our Smart Cities goal to reduce and recover value from our food and organic waste.”
Councillor Diane Ballantyne said she felt the move to organics collection was overdue.
“My community’s been asking for it for years,” she said, noting, “It fits with our philosophy of circular economy.”
Officials say the organics collection program will divert 2,000 tonnes of food and organic waste from the county’s landfill site initially – and even more down the road.
This will extend the life of the landfill site by approximately two years.
“This new contract addresses the many long-term benefits of providing green bin collection and weekly collection service,” stated Davidson.
“This level of service provides our residents with the tools they need to divert more material from our one and only landfill site, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions from landfill and collection operations.”
SWS staff is working on the new program’s design and will be providing participation information to residents starting later this year.
With the new contract, the county will also be adding leaf and yard waste collection four times a year, with two pickup dates in the spring and two in the fall.
Currently only the Township of Wellington North, among Wellington County municipalities, offers the service.
