Sarnia’s garbage and recycling routes are changing in January.
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The move, to correct route length imbalances — including 76 per cent more properties on Thursdays than Tuesdays — is likely the first time the routes have changed since they were created in 1997, said city engineering and operations general manager David Jackson.
“We’ve gotten to the point where those changes just need to be made to ensure the routes remain efficient,” he said.
About 16,000 properties, or more than half of the nearly 27,000 in the city that get garbage and recycling collection, will see their pickup days change, he said.
“It’s significant,” he said.
Sarnia is trying to get the word out, so people aren’t caught off guard, he said, noting plans are to send out letters as well, but that will wait until after an ongoing Canada Post strike ends.
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“We certainly expect people to have questions about those impacts,” Jackson said.
Some of those answers are available at sarnia.ca/2025wasteFAQand the city has a map at sarnia.ca/collectiondayswhere people can input their address to check their new collection day.
Recycling is no longer a city servicebut recycling producers’ collector Circular Materials Ontario also is changing its routes to keep garbage and recycling collection on the same day, city officials said on its frequently-asked-questions page.
Extra recycling collection dates will be added for areas where a three-week recycling collection gap would have resulted with the Jan. 6 route changes, city officials said in a news release.
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Sarnia city council recently approved the route changes as part of the city’s new waste master plan.
Other changes include yard waste collection every other week between April and December, and every week in November, instead of the current sporadic collection schedule.
The change boosts collection days to 20, from 18, a city report says, noting brush collection will continue on the current schedule.
Christmas trees also won’t be collected curbside any more in January, after just 1,000 properties put them out in 2024, city officials said.
People can still take old trees to Transco Recycling, or wait until brush collection in April, Jackson said.
Longer term, Sarnia is looking to implement a green bin program for organic waste in 2027, and likely switch to every-other-week garbage collection.
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Getting there means extending current waste collection services for another two years, so plans are to negotiate an extension with Marcotte Disposal before that contract expires at the end of June, Jackson said.
Marcotte’s $7.9-million, four-year contract in 2019 was extended for two years in 2023, for $5 million.
Marcotte generally is open to extending the contract again, and it might be more difficult to find a new provider for a relatively short time period, Jackson said.
“We’re very optimistic we’ll be able to come to an agreement,” he said, adding the city has been pleased with Marcotte’s service.
“But we do need to make that decision soon, in case we do need to explore alternative options,” Jackson said.
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Next steps for preparing for green bins in 2027 include first preparing to accept tenders from companies interested in processing the organic material, Jackson said.
After council approves a contract, perhaps by mid 2025, the next step would be tendering for a collection contractor and the bins themselves, he said.
The green bin program, which would divert a substantial amount of waste from local landfill, is expected to cost about $2.6 million in capital costs to start, and $2.8 million a year to operate, a city report says, noting Sarnia is also reviewing changing its landfill costs with the County of Lambton.
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