What to know<\/p>\n
Toronto residents across several neighbourhoods report missed blue bin recycling pickups just days after Circular Materials took over the service on Jan. 1.<\/p>\n
Councillor Josh Matlow has called the rollout \u201ccompletely unacceptable,\u201d criticizing the Ford government\u2019s decision to privatize recycling and pointing to a lack of accountability and resident confusion.<\/p>\n
Circular Materials says missed post-holiday collections in parts of Districts 2 and 3 began being picked up on Monday, with crews working through the week to clear remaining recycling.<\/p>\n
The transition has left residents unsure who to contact for missed pickups, as recycling collection is no longer handled by the City of Toronto or 311.<\/p>\n
Just days into its new role, Ontario\u2019s privatized recycling company is under fire for missed collections across Toronto, and one city councillor is calling it \u201cunacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n
National non-profit, Circular Materials<\/a>, is now responsible for the province-wide recycling program, Green For Life (GFL)<\/a> has been contracted out to do recycling pickup in the city, which began in Toronto as of Jan. 1.\u00a0<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n However, it hasn\u2019t been off to a smooth start. Residents in several neighbourhoods across the city have reported recycling piling up on curbsides following the new year, and attempts to get clarity from the new service provider have left some frustrated and confused.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cRecycling bins on my street didn\u2019t get picked up Friday as per schedule with this new private company\u2026bins and bags still on the curb three days later,\u201d one resident complained<\/a> on X.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cRecycling collection in my neighbourhood was skipped and everyone\u2019s bins have been out now for four days. Most bins are overflowing from the holidays and people are putting their excess recycling on the sidewalk.\u201d a Reddit user wrote online<\/a>, adding that as of Monday evening, there still had been no pickup.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou can no longer call 311 about recycling issues and the private company isn\u2019t responsive. I have a bad feeling this will be a regular occurrence.\u201d<\/p>\n Ward 12\u2013St. Paul\u2019s Councillor Josh Matlow, who has been fairly vocal online about the missed pickups, calling them \u201ccompletely unacceptable,\u201d says constituents in his riding are still awaiting collections.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Ford government has removed most residential recycling pick up from the City and has given a company called Circular Materials responsibility for this service. I\u2019m hearing from several residents that their recycling wasn\u2019t picked up last week. This is completely unacceptable. pic.twitter.com\/cqa5OwulPz<\/a><\/p>\n