New recycling, garbage pickup schedule in South Frontenac

by Jeff Green

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One week after acknowledging that the recycling system was inadequate and had to be fixed, South Frontenac Council has taken steps to fix it. But at least one councillor is concerned about how much the fix will end up costing.

Starting the week of October 10^th, residents in Portland and Loughborough Districts will have weekly garbage and recycling pickup, the same frequency of service that Storrington District residents have and will continue to enjoy.

Recycling will still be split into streams, however. In Loughborough and Portland , for the week of October 10^th;  corrugated cardboard, aluminum & steel cans and plastic/styrofoam containers will be picked up. The following week, the week of October 17^th; paper products (newspaper, boxboard (includes cereal boxes), polycoat & plastic bags) and glass bottles will be picked up. The cycle then repeats. (see ad on page 3)

This new schedule was hammered out at a meeting of the South Frontenac Sustainability committee last Friday, and was brought to a special council meeting for approval on Tuesday night, September 26.

Mayor Lake introduced the topic by delivering what he called a “little sermon”. He pointed out that he has received over a hundred phone calls since the pickup schedule was changed at the beginning of September. “I tried my very best to make sure there was weekly pickup in Loughborough and Portland in the first place,” he said, “but give the committee credit where credit is due that they have come up with some positive recommendations.”

“Lots of people were complaining, and we listened,” said Portland councilor Gary Davison. “It’s going to cost money, of course, and I hope the people will stay on track with this. We need recycling to work.”

Exactly how much this plan will cost was on the top of Portland councilor Don Smith’s mind. Smith, who normally sits on the sustainability committee, was away on vacation last week when this issue came to a head.

“Did the committee cost this out at all?” he asked. “It certainly isn’t in the budget.”

“It will have to come out of reserves this year,” said Deputy Mayor Ron Vandewal.

“How much is it going to cost?” Smith asked again.

“It’s going to affect our contracts,” said CAO Gord Burns, “so we will have to go in camera to discuss it.”

A motion was passed to bring in the new pickup schedule, and then Council went in camera to discuss costs.

In South Frontenac, each district levies its own waste management fee. In past years, Storrington residents have paid about $145 per household for weekly pick up, $20 more than Loughbourough and Portland residents have paid for bi-weekly pickup.