If council approves staff recommendation, county could trim operating budget by at least $430,000 next year<\/p>\n
Editor’s note: The County of Simcoe does not oversee waste collection in\u00a0the separated cities of Barrie and Orillia. <\/p>\n
Simcoe County staff are recommending an end to recycling subsidies for multi-residential properties starting in 2027, citing changes to Ontario\u2019s blue-box system and the shift of recycling costs to producers.<\/p>\n
Under the proposal, the county would continue offering a garbage\u2011collection subsidy to eligible multi-residential buildings,\u00a0but only if they participate in both organics and recycling diversion.<\/p>\n
With producers now responsible for the province\u2019s residential recycling system, county staff argue that continuing to subsidize recycling for privately serviced buildings would shift costs unfairly onto local taxpayers.<\/p>\n
According to a report presented at Tuesday’s\u00a0committee of the whole meeting, multi-residential buildings can already sign up for a free \u201crecycling pass\u201d through the county\u2019s agreement with Circular Materials, which is the\u00a0not\u2011for\u2011profit organization overseeing Ontario\u2019s move to producer\u2011run recycling and is responsible for managing collection, processing and overall system performance.<\/p>\n
The pass allows properties to drop off recycling at county waste facilities at no cost. Circular Materials reimburses the county for site use and covers the transfer and processing of the material.<\/p>\n
The county has also begun onboarding buildings into the multi-residential organics program.<\/p>\n
The report notes that about 74 per cent of units that received the waste subsidy in 2025 have either been approved for municipal organics collection, arranged their own private organics service\u00a0or submitted an application.<\/p>\n
Six properties,\u00a0with a total of 197 units,\u00a0have declined service and will no longer receive the subsidy, while 67 properties\u00a0totalling 2,083 units\u00a0have not yet applied.<\/p>\n
In 2025, the county spent roughly $860,000 on the waste subsidy, including $430,000 for recycling. Staff say eliminating the recycling portion would reduce the 2027 operating budget by at least that amount, with further savings possible if more properties opt out of the program.<\/p>\n