County has received over 400 complaints/inquiries since switching to recycling carts

WELLINGTON COUNTY ― The county’s transition from recycling bins to carts continues to raise some concerns throughout the community.

But some maintain the concerns are simply a symptom of growing pains and residents will adjust in the near future.

According to a the county’s manager of solid waste services, Das Soligo, his department has received 415 cart-related inquiries/complaints since May, when Circular Materials announced it would be delivering recycling carts to every county residence.

The county officially transitioned to a cart-based recycling system last month, when residents received their choice of a “standard” 360-litre recycling cart or a smaller 240-litre cart.

Representing approximately 15 per cent of the total calls and emails received during that time period, Soligo said the most common concerns he’s heard seem to be related to residents having difficulty storing the carts, typically in denser areas of town.

He’s also heard concerns about residents struggling to move the carts to the roadside, especially in rural areas or for those with physical limitations.

“It is challenging speaking to a service which we are not responsible for, and to which we have no ability to influence or make changes to,” said Soligo in an email. “However, we take time to try to answer questions or address complaints where possible.”

In a similar vein, county Coun. Mary Lloyd said she’s had about 100 interactions with residents from across Wellington County expressing disappointment about the recycling carts’ size and concerns about long rural driveways and mobility issues.

Beyond that, Lloyd said she’s noticed the carts received are being filled quickly as residents discover how much material can be included in recycling.

This has led to more requests being submitted to Circular Materials for a second cart, said Lloyd.

Nonetheless, Circular Materials director of community and media relations, Jennifer Kerr, maintains they’ve received “minimal complaints” since the transition and they’re working with the local recycling collection provider, Waste Management, to support the “small volume of resident inquiries” in Wellington County.

“This summer’s rollout of recycling carts in Wellington County has been generally well-received and is delivering a convenient and safe solution to managing household recycling for residents,” said Kerr, who described resident feedback as “positive” overall.

With cart collection becoming “the standard” for collection services across Ontario, Soligo said he believes the complaints will end shortly after residents start using the new system, similar to neighbouring communities.

“Each household will find storage solutions that will work for their household, and residents typically quite enjoy the convenience and lack of litter or animal disturbances which come with a change to a cart system,” said Soligo. “I expect that this will be the case here in Wellington County as well.”

As residents continue to adjust to the switch, Soligo said Circular Materials recommends residents living in rural areas consider storing their carts near the end of their driveways and moving them to the roadside on collection day to help minimize any transportation issues.

The company also has a special accommodations process where residents can apply for help moving the carts to and from the end of their driveway if the movement proves to be too difficult, said Soligo.

To smooth the transition process, he said they also temporarily waived the minimum fee at all of the county’s waste facilities so residents can drop off recycling for free, as some residents were unaware of the switch to every-other-week collection or were still setting out their recyclables in blue boxes.

Fees will come back into effect on Sept. 8.

“As we continue to advance Ontario’s new blue box recycling program, Circular Materials is committed to delivering an efficient and effective program that brings tangible results that benefit residents, communities and the environment,” said Kerr.

Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.