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The County of Simcoe and Waste Connections Canada (WCC), our current waste collections contractor, have worked together to bridge us until our next contract takes effect in November 2021.
This outcome means that curbside collections will continue for our residents without changes or impacts to the current collection system or schedule, and our residents will continue to be supported with this essential service during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This was necessary to deal with increased costs related to the pandemic, monthly net losses due to increases in industry/service related costs, and ongoing labour challenges.
Additional costs associated with the COVID-19 pandemic will be covered by a combination of reserves and/or recently available COVID-19 funding opportunities. It is projected that these costs will not be directly passed on to residents through new taxes.
As waste services have been deemed an essential service during the pandemic, we avoided a significant public health and economic issue by preventing a major disruption to waste collection services. After investigating other short-term alternatives that were ultimately deemed to be more costly and negatively impactful to our residents, we believe this is the best possible outcome for our taxpayers, communities and our valued waste drivers.
While both organizations have experienced challenges with this contract, our partnership with WCC over the past seven years has brought value and service to the County and our residents. It has allowed us to keep our waste costs stable and lower than most regions annually. These savings, along with other budgetary strategies, have enabled the County to build reserves, which can be utilized at this time of need.
The cost of curbside waste services has increased significantly industry-wide over the last few years due to a number of factors. These adjusted costs remain less than our next contract starting November 2021, which was awarded through a public bidding process that evaluated proposals from four different companies. The new collection cost increase remains in-line with current industry trends.
We are looking forward to introducing an efficient and automated cart collection system in late 2021. The new contract will provide convenient bins for residents, an added level of predictability to our labour force and curbside service, and allow us to increase our diversion as we all work to reduce the amount of garbage we produce in Simcoe County.
George Cornell
Warden, County of Simcoe
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