Residential garbage collection has taken one step closer to being a potential reality in rural Halton Hills.
During its meeting Monday, town council passed a motion that asks Halton Region to create a survey that would determine whether or not rural residents want waste pickup at their homes. This move is the starting point in a long process that could bring garbage collection to the last place in the region that doesn't have the service.
“People keep asking when another survey will be done. The last one was done about 12 years ago,” said Councillor Clark Somerville, who brought the motion forward with Councillor Jason Brass.
Currently, those who live in rural Halton Hills only receive curbside blue box and green cart collection - services delivered by Halton Region. As such, they don’t pay taxes for garbage pickup.
The 2011 survey mentioned by Somerville cost $6,000 to implement. According to regional staff, 41 per cent of households responded to the survey, and of those collected, 48.7 per cent agreed or strongly agreed with having additional waste collection services.
At that time, Halton Hills council went on to pass a motion to maintain the status quo with no rural garbage collection, with regional council then adopting a similar resolution.
Brass has long been pushing for the service to be extended to the rural area and campaigned on the issue.
“When I went door to door [during the last election], I certainly heard loud and clear from quite a few residents that they've been waiting patiently for garbage collection,” Brass told HaltonHillsToday. “Certainly with anyone new to Ward 2, I get calls from them almost daily actually with the surprise and awe that there's no garbage pickup.”
He noted he also heard from some residents who don't mind taking their garbage to the transfer station, and that they're concerned the service expansion would make their taxes go up.
Brass and Somerville’s motion asks the Region to consider options such as a bag tag system and other similar user-pay programs as potential waste collection solutions.
The resolution also suggests that the Region work with Halton Hills staff and Ward 2 councillors on the timing and location of open houses and communications on the potential garbage collection.
-with files from Melanie Hennessey