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Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie is criticizing the rollout of the province’s new recycling system and says complaints from residents are up 1,100 per cent since responsibility for blue box collection shifted away from the city.
In an open letter posted to social media last week, Guthrie expressed “profound frustration and outright dissatisfaction” with the level of service being delivered by Waste Management Inc., which collects recycling in Guelph under contract with Circular Materials.
The province transferred responsibility for residential recycling to Circular Materials in May 2025 as part of the new program.
The mayor says residents have consistently raised concerns about missed pickups, inconsistent and confusing routes, and uncertainty over what can be recycled. In his letter, Guthrie called for immediate action to address the problems.
“Please do not dismiss or underestimate the depth of public anger,” he wrote. “Swift, meaningful change is required to restore trust and service reliability immediately.”
Company says program mostly successful
In an emailed statement to CBC News, Allen Langdon, CEO of Circular Materials, said the program in Guelph has been mostly successful in Guelph.
“Overall, the transition in the City of Guelph has been smooth, and our teams at both WM and Circular Materials have been able to quickly resolve resident inquiries,” Langdon said.
“In the past two weeks, these inquiries have been due to unforeseen weather-related delays due to road conditions. We have actively engaged with Mayor Guthrie to understand and address any concerns.”
When asked for statement about the issue, the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks said, “Circular Materials continues to work closely with communities and contractors to address challenges and ensure the seamless delivery of services.”
Complaints place burden on city staff
Guthrie told CBC News in an interview that the program initially ran reasonably well, but a sharp rise in complaints began about six months ago.
He says the surge has placed an unexpected burden on city staff, who are now spending time and money responding to issues tied to a service the city no longer delivers.
“Just for January so far this year, there’s been 78 [complaints]. And so I thought that that trajectory is not good,” he said. “What are we spending, what are we losing to deal with all of these complaints?”
Guthrie recommends residents who want to report missed or delayed recycling pickups should contact Waste Management directly, rather than calling city hall or their councillor. He says routing complaints through the city adds extra steps, slowing down responses.
“It would be like calling the mayor and asking them to help you with your cellphone bill or something,” he said.
But Guthrie is still putting the responsibility squarely on Circular Materials and Waste Management.
Guthrie wants Circular Materials and Waste Management to communicate more clearly with residents, optimize collection routes, and handle complaints directly.
“We really want to try to get this type of workload off our own city staff,” he said.
A meeting with Guthrie, city staff, and Waste Management is being set up by Langdon to resolve the issues directly.
“They are taking it very seriously and they’re looking for solutions,” Guthrie said. “I do believe that things will get better. “