The Collingwood BIA wants to change your garbage day.
More specifically, they want a different collection day to prevent the accumulation of garbage on Hurontario Street on the weekend.
Currently, garbage collection for all of Collingwood occurs Monday, with collection downtown occurring early morning.
Businesses on the main street that are closed on Saturday and/or Sunday put their garbage at the curb on Friday or Saturday at close. The garbage then sits there until it is collected on Monday.
Previously, Penny Skelton, chair of the BIA board, and Sue Nicholson, BIA manager, have come to Collingwood council meetings to request a change in collection date.
They explained the garbage looks bad on main street and often gets torn open by birds or blown around by wind. In the winter, it can be buried in snow banks.
There is a county bylaw prohibiting garbage being placed on the street prior to 5 p.m. on Sunday, and according to Skelton the BIA reminds downtown businesses of the bylaw, but it isn’t fixing the problem. The maximum fine for contravening the county's waste bylaw is up to $5,000.
Skelton and Nicholson returned to the Corporate and Community Services Standing Committee last night (June 3) to again request a change in Collection date.
Skelton called the downtown Collingwood’s largest tourist attraction.
"This is an issue which is number one with our membership and reflects our collective pride in the appearance of downtown," said Skelton in an email this afternoon. "Since committee meeting last evening I have been approached by a lot of citizens who are cheering the BIA on in its effort to change the garbage collection day to any day but Monday."
In Collingwood, curbside collection is provided by the County of Simcoe via a contract with a private operator.
Currently, the county is working on a new contract for garbage collection. The current contract expires in 2022.
Wilma Bureau, contract and collections supervisor for the county said the process of procuring a new contractor will also involve evaluating collection days and shifting to a four-day collection week throughout the county.
"This will result in altered collection days for some areas, however, schedules will be determined as the process unfolds," said Bureau.
The BIA board of management - at a meeting on May 9 passed a resolution asking council to request a new collection date from the county as the new collection contract was being negotiated.
The BIA resolution asked for garbage day to be changed to Fridays.
Nicholson said collection on any other weekday would also solve the issue.
According to Bureau, curbside collection for local businesses is a privilege, not a right.
"The county offers collection to commercial business owners as an added service," said Bureau. "Municipalities are not responsible to collect commercial waste. As such, the programs and the collection schedule are built for residential service."
She said collection services are extended to businesses as an added level of convenience and to support waste diversion through recycling and organics pickup.
