By Mike Anderson
On November 21, Mayor Margaret Quirk announced in a social media post that Circular Materials Ontario, the non-profit organization now responsible for managing the province’s recycling programs, will provide a smaller blue bin option for Georgina residents.
According to the Mayor, residents will be able to request a 65-gallon bin online by Wednesday, November 26. There will also be a 1-800 number they can call.
This follows pushback from residents who expressed frustration with the provided 95-gallon bin, many saying it was just too big and cumbersome, especially for seniors, and hard to store.
As a result, York Region’s northern (N6) Mayors and provincial officials, including local MPP Caroline Mulroney, successfully lobbied Circular Materials to offer residents a smaller option.
Circular Materials initially declined to provide a smaller bin, as the larger bin was considered optimal for automated pick-up and bi-weekly collection. The 95-gallon bin holds the equivalent of 6 standard blue boxes, while the 65-gallon bin holds 4. The 65-gallon bin is approximately 30 per cent smaller in total volume.
“This has been a frustrating process; we didn’t get all we were asking for; however, there was a recognition that ‘one size doesn’t fit all,” Mayor Quirk said on Facebook.
“I want to thank the Premier, Minister McCarthy and our MPP’s including MPP Caroline Mulroney and the N6 Mayors for all their work in this issue.”
Still, while there may be a smaller blue bin option available, the new collection schedule, which is no longer managed by Ontario municipalities, has not changed.
Beginning January 1, Georgina will switch to bi-weekly collection instead of weekly collection now offered.
To prepare for the transition, there will be no blue box collection during the week of December 29, with new bins and bi-weekly collection scheduled to start the week of January 5, according to a Town media release.
The Circular Materials online portal for Georgina is www.circularmaterials.ca/resident-communities/georgina/
If you have any questions about the recycling changes, contact customerservice@circularmaterials.ca or call 1-855-354-2772.
You can also contact GFL at 1-833-779-4351 or email n6recycling@gflenv.com.
Updated information is also available at www.georgina.ca/BlueBox.
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