New garbage policy to be decided by Council

A new policy to reduce unnecessary waste going to landfill, meet provincially mandated diversion targets and increase participation in recycling and green bin programs will rise to City Council for decision on June 14.

The City’s Environment and Climate Change Committee today considered the new policy, which would change curbside garbage collection in Ottawa to a partial pay-as-you-throw program, beginning in Q2 2024. Residents can watch the staff presentation outlining the new policy on the City’s Youtube channel.

The Committee received an update on the transition to the new Provincial Blue Box Program, in which producers will be responsible for collecting and processing recyclable materials from eligible sources. The City will transition to the new program beginning on July 1, 2023, with the transition period ending on December 31, 2025. 

The City has negotiated an agreement with Circular Materials Ontario to continue collecting recyclables on producers’ behalf throughout the transition period. As a result, residents will see no change to their usual curbside recycling service during the transition. The City will provide status quo collection on the current schedule and continue to handle customer service inquiries.

Staff propose extending the existing curbside collection contract with the current service providers for the transition period. After the transition period, the contracts for organics and waste collection would be extended a further three months, to minimize potential impacts to service and operations. 

Items considered at this meeting will rise to Council on Wednesday, June 14.