Waste Collection Services

About Our Current Waste Services

The Township contracts curbside waste collection to a company called Waste Management for both recyclable household waste and non-recyclable household garbage.

Collection Schedule

Garbage is collected weekly and recycling is currently collected every two weeks. For more information, visit the Collection Calendar.

Collection Guidelines

Curbside collection takes place between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m., though times may vary due to weather, road conditions, and equipment issues. Garbage bags and blue boxes must be placed at the road edge as close to the street as possible, at the end of the driveway.

Garbage bags may be placed in a garbage can. Each bag should weigh less than 22 kg and display a garbage tag. A maximum of 4 garbage bags per household each week is allowed.

Recycling is collected every two weeks. You can place one or more Blue Boxes of recycling at the curbside alongside garbage bags. Blue boxes are available from the Township offices for $14.00. Accepted materials include glass bottles and jars, aluminum and steel cans, plastics, paint cans, newspaper and paper, and cardboard.

Transition to New Blue Box Program

Starting in January 2026, the Township will no longer be responsible for recycling collection – the blue box. This will not form part of the services provided under the new contract. From January, 2026, the Province of Ontario is responsible for the Blue Box program and recycling collections. These will continue to be collected from your curbside, but the Province will determine the items that can be placed out for recycling, the frequency of collection and the type of container (bags, boxes or wheeled carts) that are used for collection.

As a result of this transition, we are not seeking feedback on blue box recycling as part of this survey, as the Township will not have influence over this program in the future.

Composting

The Township does not provide a yard waste or organic material collection service. We have participated in the Foodcycler program, and more than 200 households are currently using a Foodcycler. The Township also sells composting bins for residents to use. The Township works in partnership with the City of Owen Sound to provide residents with access to the leaf and yard waste site in Owen Sound.

The Township is interested in hearing about whether you would like to see a different approach to organic and yard waste as part of a new Township program, or if you are satisfied with the existing services.

Other Waste

The Township does not currently collect electronic waste. Residents who wish to dispose of it must take it to specific locations, such as Habitat for Humanity, where it can be recycled.

The Township also does not collect Hazardous Waste such as oil, old paint, and other materials. The Township works in partnership with the City of Owen Sound to provide residents with opportunities to dispose of these sorts of materials at specific times of the year.

For larger items such as old sofas, fridges or other bulky material, or for construction and renovation waste, the Township does not provide a service collecting these, and residents must pay to dispose of these items at the privately run (Miller) Waste Transfer Facility in Owen Sound.

The Township is interested in hearing about whether you use these services and whether you would like to see an alternative approach to collection of these sorts of materials through the Townships new waste management contract.

A Request for Proposal (RFP) process will secure new waste management services. The Township will advertise and seek qualified contractors to perform waste management collection and disposal on its behalf. The term of the new agreement is likely to be five years, with the potential to extend for another five years.

The RFP process will ask for a contractor's range of services and options, from a basic garbage collection service to exploring how alternative technologies may be used in collections and new ways of collecting waste.

Contractors will be asked to share in their response to the Township the services they can provide and how these would meet the needs of the Township. They will also be asked to provide pricing for these services.

Based on the RFP information and the feedback from Council and the community, staff will develop options and costs for a future waste management collection service. These are anticipated to be shared with the Council before the end of 2024.

Based on council's discussion, it is anticipated that a contractor will be awarded in late 2024 for a new service that will start in mid-2026.

There is a significant lag in time between the award of the new contract and the start of the new contract. It is very likely that a contractor will need to obtain equipment to service the Township and garbage equipment can take up to 2 years to manufacture and deliver. A contractor will not be able to order this equipment until they know they have secured the work needed to offset the costs of this equipment.