Essex County to study taking responsibility for waste collection

Officials in Essex County will be looking into whether it makes sense for the countyto take on responsibility for waste management fromthe lower-tier municipalities.

County council passed two motions on Wednesday night that instructedadministration to study the idea.

Both motions were put forward by Essex Mayor Richard Meloche.

The first motion asked municipal staff to work with the Essex-Windsor Solid Waste Authority (EWSWA) andprepare a report on potential cost savings from transferring the jurisdiction of garbagecollection to the county and ultimately toEWSWA.

Right now, the county'smunicipalities have individual garbage contracts that expire in different years.

The second motion directed staffto consult withand seek the approval of each of the lower-tier municipalities on transferring responsibilityfor waste to the county, andlook at what it would mean for the municipalitiesif the cost for waste andorganics collection fell under county levies.

Right now, waste management fees operate under a user-pay system. They fall under a separate item ontax bills, rather than being coveredthroughtheir municipal tax or county tax levies.

Once the study is complete, which an official saidwould likely beat the start of the next term since there is an election in October, the matter would go back to council once again.

Council's actions comeahead of a deadline for Ontario municipalities to divert food scraps from the landfill.

Both the city of Windsor and the county have passed motions giving the EWSWAthe green light to move ahead with establishing a regional plan for organics collection.

The warden of Essex County put the price tag for the program in the ballpark of $300 million, with annual costs of $6 to $8 million on top of that.

By 2025, larger municipalities like Windsor are required to divert 70 per cent of their organic waste and offer curbside collection. Smaller communities have lower targets, and some, like Kingsville and Essex,would be exempt.