Sarnia waste collection master plan in the works

Sarnia is working on a master plan for waste collection.

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“With the organics coming, the recycling transition, it is a good time to look at the whole service in general,” said engineering and operations general manager David Jackson.

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Sarnia was one of the first Ontario municipalities in July to switch to producer responsibility through Circular Materials — a national not-for-profit created by Costco, Loblaw, Nestle and other plastics and packaging producers — for recycling, and provincial organic waste collection is expected to start in 2025.

“We’ve never done a master plan (for waste collection) before,” Jackson said.

“So, kind of reviewing all aspects of it and planning for the future.”

City staff are handling the bulk of the work, he said, though Dillon Consulting Ltd. was contracted for $90,000 in October to help craft the organics portion of the strategy.

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Sarnia needs to consider what to do with the organics collected, including whether the city should invest in a food waste digestercity officials said.

City staff have recommended banking savings from the recycling program change — estimated at $300,000 to $400,000 for the last six months of 2023 — to invest in the city’s looming organics program.

A collection contract with Marcotte Disposal was extended in the spring for two years, to June 30, 2025, for $5 million.

Expect public engagement on the master plan likely by the spring, Jackson said.

Meanwhile, the city already has been receiving praise from citizens for switching large-item collection — for things such as chairs, tables, mattresses and appliances — to once a week in 2024.

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Until now, it’s been once a month.

“People are excited about that change,” Jackson said, noting the contractor pitched the idea during a regular end-of-the-year meeting to check how things have been going.

The expected result is less strain on collectors with the items spread out, more opportunities for residents to take advantage of the collection, and a break for the city, too, Jackson said.

“Large items that were put out at the wrong time and left out for a long time, those were complaints we had to deal with,” Jackson said.

“Now, those will be significantly mitigated.”

With Christmas and New Year’s holidays, garbage and recycling collection is being delayed by one day, so regular Dec. 25 pickup is Dec. 26, Dec. 26 is Dec. 27, Jan. 1 is Jan. 2, and so on until Jan. 6.

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City hall, the Strangway Center and Sarnia Transit offices also are closing until Jan. 2, but people can still call 519-332-0330 in case of an emergency such as a water main break or downed trees, Jackson said.

Annual extended New Year’s Eve transit service until 1:30 am Jan. 1 also is back, he said.

Routes and details are available at sarnia.ca.

“It’s a good service to provide for those who are out and looking for an alternate way to get around,” Jackson said. “But the last few years we haven’t seen a lot of ridership during the New Year’s Eve service.”

Buses also stop running between midnight and 12:30 am, he said, since there isn’t much demand at that time, and to give drivers a break.

Buses are not running Dec. 25, 26, and after 1:30 am Jan. 1.

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