Several Aurora residents say they are perplexed by the new 95 gallon recycling carts they received last week.
“I wanted to do my part, and recycle everything I can,” says Manuel, an Aurora resident. “My father’s 85 years old. There’s no way he can carry this out. It’s not possible.”
This comes as York Region transitions to the new provincial recycling system. This moves the funding and operating of the blue box program from municipalities to the producers of the products and packaging.
The system is now managed by Circular Materials, which coordinates collection and service across Ontario.
“We’re actually dumbfounded at the fact that this has been presented this way in Northern York Region,” says Aurora Mayor, Tom Mrakas.
Residents in areas like Toronto and Peel Region had options for their bin sizes, Mrakas, says Aurora had no choice.
“They never consulted our staff or the northern six municipalities in regards to it,” says Mrakas.
Bi-weekly automated cart collection
Starting in January, six northern communities in York Region will transition to bi-weekly automated cart collection by the contractor GFL.
In a statement to CityNews, Circular Materials says the carts are part of a competitive procurement process resulting in a commercial agreement with the contractor. Officials also say that this falls in alignment with the provincial regulation.
Meanwhile, the new system is also being streamlined. Now, more materials can be recycled, including coffee cups, deodorant, and toothpaste tubes.
For some families, these giant bins are just what they need.
“I’m actually happy about it because we had to put the three bins, the small blue bins, to actually fit the recycles because that was not enough,” said an Aurora resident CityNews spoke to.
All six mayors of the northern communities in York Region are hoping to find a solution for residents to have suitable blue bin options.
