As of January 1, 2026, Callander will enter a new five-year agreement with the City of North Bay to dispose of municipal waste at the Merrick Landfill
For Callander residents, normal garbage pickup will not be interrupted.
The Merrick Landfill is located at 4 Sand Dam Road, North Bay, approximately 21 kilometers from downtown North Bay, off Highway 11 at the end of Sand Dam Road. In 2025, the City of North Bay budgeted $3,524,192 to maintain landfill operations. Callander paid $351,381 towards that.
This total represents the daily operations of the landfill as well as maintaining waste management programs, such as the organic depot and the hazardous waste depot. Operating the Merrick Landfill cost $1,868,368 in 2025.
The price Callander pays is based on populations and the amount of garbage per household per week. Numbers are based on the 2021 population count from Statistics Canada. As per those stats, 52,662 people live in North Bay, with 3,964 calling Callander home.
North Bay residents are allowed two garbage bags per weekly pickup, whereas Callander households are allowed three.
Callander does not have a landfill within its municipal borders and has been using the Merrick Landfill for decades. The first formal agreement between North Bay and Callander regarding landfill usage was drawn on January 1, 1982. When the new contract takes effect, the formal arrangement will enters its 44 year.
Each year, Callander also hosts two annual cleanup events. During which, the town provides large bins at the public works yard for people to dispose of yard waste and larger items without having to drive to the landfill.
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.