WELLINGTON COUNTY — Recycling services will remain for downtown businesses when the County of Wellington transitions to full producer responsibility.
Approved at a county council meeting this week, staff said maintaining recycling services in the county's 14 downtown areas post-producer pay transition is a "best value option" because it "provides continuity for many or most" of the current users.
This follows county council questions about how much it would cost to continue recycling services for all businesses when the county transitions its blue box program to full producer responsibility, a system where printed paper and packing producers manage and fund all aspects of residential recycling, in July 2025.
"Garbage is a real annoyance, it's a problem to deal with on a day-to-day basis so if we had withdrawn that service...it would've been a real problem and we would've had some justifiable blow back on that so I'm really pleased...I think it really matters to our businesses," said County Coun. Chris White, at the meeting.
To cost $128,300 annually, the program will include 558 businesses. All downtown areas will be collected weekly on Thursdays, with collection beginning "as early as" 6 a.m.
For reference, maintaining the service for all businesses in the county would cost $644,000 annually and include 1,705 businesses.
When asked how many businesses currently receiving collection services will still have access to services once this is implemented, staff said the information is not available as every business on a public road technically has access to curbside and there is no available data on which businesses participate.
Anecdotally, staff said they've noticed "very low" program participation in industrial parks and commercial strips around the county and are concerned including them might disrupt existing commercial bin service contracts.
Any of the county's waste facilities will remain available as a recyclable drop-off location for businesses that currently use curbside collection services but are not located within the identified area.
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.
