Changes are coming to the way residential waste is collected in the Municipality of Meaford.
Effective July 5 curbside collection of garbage for all businesses and residents will move from a weekly pick-up to every second week, and the collection of recyclables will shift to weekly.
The move is part of an overhaul of the municipality's waste management system after a study was conducted by an independent consultant last year. Among the recommendations of the study were various strategies designed to increase the waste diversion rate within the municipality with the goal of reducing the amount of trash sent to landfills.
In 2009 Meaford implemented the controversial 'Pay as you throw' bag tag program which required residents to purchase $2 stickers to affix to any bag of trash to be collected by the municipality.
The resulting decrease in the volume of curbside trash collected, and the increase in the amount of items finding their way into recycle bins necessitated the changes in collection frequency.
In addition to the revised collection schedule, the municipality is advising residents of some additional changes.
Residents in urban Meaford will now be able to include corrugated cardboard with their recyclables. This change will no doubt be well received by residents as previously these cardboard items had to be taken to the transfer station for disposal. The cardboard placed at the curb for collection along with other recyclable material must be bundled and not larger than 24 inches in height and width, and no more than eight inches in depth.
One other change that might be less popular involves the collection of trash. For the every other week collection residents may place a maximum of three bags at the curb. Under the terms of the previous weekly collection resident could dispose of two bags per week meaning that in an average month two fewer bags of trash may be disposed of by residents.
The bag tag requirement still applies to all bags of garbage to be collected.
Curbside pick up of compostable materials will be extended to to include the hamlets of Bognor and Leith and will occur on the same day as regular recyclable pick up. All compostable materials must be placed inside a compostable bag.
Collection areas will remain the same and there will be no changes to the day of the week that waste is collected in a given area.
Additional information about changes to waste and recyclables collection can be obtained by contacting the municipal office.
