Downtown Barrie businesses and residences will not escape coming changes to the city’s waste management plans.
In early January 2025, on-line registration will open for residential and business properties within the Business Improvement Area (BIA) that require municipal waste collection services after Sept. 8, 2025.
Once automated cart collection begins then, the city will no longer be collecting loose bagged garbage, green bins or business recycling in boxes/bags dropped along the streets within the BIA.
City collected waste such as organics, garbage and business recycling will be required to be placed in city provided carts.
“Changing waste collection to an automated, cart-based service will reduce litter, enhance pest control, create consistency in containers and aesthetics curbside, and reduce injuries for collection workers,” said Stephanie Mack, Barrie’s associate director of waste management and environmental sustainability, in a Dec. 18 memo to city council.
“Cart collection has been successfully implemented within downtown cores of other municipalities with a similar historic configuration” she said.
Properties requiring waste collection service within the BIA will need to register by March 31, 2025 for the new, more structured BIA collection program. Carts will be provided at no charge based on the number of residential and/or commercial units - from Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) and the city’s second suite registration, with collection occurring at driveways/entrances, in public/private laneways or, where necessary, along certain streetscapes.
‘One size fits all’ will not be the approach for waste collection within this area, Mack said, and the BIA registration program will allow for property-specific consultation to determine cart quantities/sizes and storage/set-out locations.
City staff understand there will be some complex areas to service within the BIA, and are working with property owners and the city’s waste contractor, Emterra, to develop operational plans.
The city now provides curbside waste collection of residential organics, business (non-residential) recycling, yard waste and garbage to approximately 300 residential and business properties located within the BIA.
In addition, there are 14 buildings/properties that are eligible for the city’s multi-residential program. These buildings/properties have more than five residential units.
Under the new waste collection contract with Emterra which began May 1, 2024, waste is collected Monday through Friday generally in the early morning hours before on-street parking and traffic increases.
“Typically, loose black bag garbage, some residential organics and recycling are set out at the curb along public roads or at driveways/entries to parking lots with ‘common collection points’ permitted to service multiple units within retail and commercial/industrial complexes,” Mack said in the memo.
“There is little to no ownership of waste – with garbage typically seen dropped beside public space bins or randomly along streetscapes in core downtown areas throughout the day,” she said. “Although the current system is convenient for businesses and residents with daily collection and unenforceable garbage limits, it often creates unsightly mess, negatively impacts the aesthetics of the city’s downtown area and looks untidy.”
Waste management within the BIA will be an on-going, long-term project for the city’s waste department.
Registration for waste services is the first step of this project – followed by consultation/planning for service provision and delivery of the carts, BIA-related updates to the waste management bylaw, public space bin enhancements and a long-term plan for monitoring, education, and enforcement.
For more information, visit: barrie.ca/
