Category Archives: Garbage and recycling

Whether you want a printed calendar or electronic reminders, we’ve got four tools to make sure you don’t miss a single curbside waste collection in 2019. Continue reading Never miss your curbside collection day!

The holiday season is filled with decorations, parties and gifts which can mean a lot more waste. Here are some easy tips to help you reduce, reuse and recycle your waste this holiday season. Be a good sort Remember to sort your waste properly. Proper sorting reduces the amount of waste sent to landfill and helps protect the environment—and you! In your blue cart: wrapping paper, paper tubes, gift bags (not coated in plastic with handles removed), tissue paper, cardboard fruit crates (plastic mesh removed) and cards. In your green cart: poinsettias, natural greenery and food scraps including bones, solidified fat and grease. In your grey cart: ribbons, bows, foil wrapping paper, gift bags (coated in plastic), plastic wrap, bubble wrap, wood fruit crates, strands… Continue reading Holiday waste sorting and collection tips

It’s time to update our waste management bylaw and review City waste services! We’re looking for your feedback, fill out the online survey. Continue reading Share your thoughts on Guelph’s waste bylaw and service

Every fall, we collect bagged yard waste at the curb and loose leaves raked onto the road. Continue reading Fall 2018 yard waste collection

Final recommendations support continuous improvement Guelph, Ont., May 17, 2018 – The final report for the Solid Waste Resources business service review will be presented to Council on Monday, May 28 at 6:30 p.m. The report details eleven recommendations for Guelph’s Solid Waste Resources division along with supporting information and data. The recommendations fall into four categories of continuous improvement: Operational and service enhancements including: Expansion of leaf and yard waste collection Expansion of multi-residential waste collection Extending the lifecycle of waste collection trucks Optimizing hours of operation at the Public Drop-off Implementing the Simcoe transition strategy at the Material Recovery Facility Creating a financial reserve for Solid Waste Resources Staff training and engagement including: Increasing financial analysis resources and skills within the division Increasing… Continue reading City shares Solid Waste Resources business service review final report

3,000 kilograms of garbage picked up  from parks and trails Guelph, Ont., May 1, 2018 – The 15th annual Clean and Green community clean up broke the record for the number of volunteers who came out to help green Guelph, despite challenging weather. “We couldn’t be more grateful for the number of people who turned out,” says Dave Beaton, supervisor of trails and natural areas stewardship with the City of Guelph. “We got iced out the previous weekend and we were worried the cold would keep people away, but our volunteers are a dedicated bunch.Thanks to them, our community is  greener and cleaner.” Over 1,300 volunteers participated, cleaning 57 parks and 61 trails and roadways, collecting a total of 3,000 kilograms of garbage.  A barbecue… Continue reading Over 1,300 volunteers made clean and green a breeze!

Free Guelph Waste app helps you sort too Download the free Guelph Waste app or sign up for reminders Guelph, Ont., March 8, 2018 – The City of Guelph is making it easier for residents to get information about waste sorting and collection schedules through a new mobile app. The free, easy-to-use Guelph Waste app for Apple and Android devices is now available in app stores. Residents who can’t use the app can still sign up for waste collection reminders at guelph.ca/waste. “This new app is great for anyone living or working in Guelph,” says Heather Connell, manager of Integrated Services with Solid Waste Resources. “It takes just one minute to sign up for waste reminders, and the app gives you on-the-go sorting info at… Continue reading Never miss your waste collection day again!

Guelph, Ont., December 11, 2017—On Thursday, December 7, a fire broke out at the City’s Organic Waste Processing Facility. The Guelph Fire Department attended the scene and extinguished the fire. Staff was safely evacuated and no injuries were reported. Final clean up from the fire was completed on December 7, and an engineering inspection confirmed that there was no structural damage. Minor repairs were made to a damaged tunnel door, and the City began processing organic waste again on Friday. Media contact Peter Busatto, General Manager Environmental Services 519-822-1260 extension 3430 peter.busatto@guelph.ca

Guelph, Ont., December 7, 2017—Around noon today a fire broke out at the City’s Organic Waste Processing Facility, located at 110 Dunlop Drive. The Guelph Fire Department attended the scene and extinguished the fire. Staff was safely evacuated and no injuries are reported. Although only one of the facility’s four processing lines was affected by the fire, the City has shut down the whole facility until the affected area can be cleared out and damages assessed. Scheduled organics collection for Guelph residents will not be affected and public access to the Waste Resource Innovation Centre remains open. An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the fire and to assess damages before the facility is brought back into operation. An update will be provided… Continue reading Fire at City’s organics facility extinguished by fire department

Final recommendations coming March 2018 City Council approved a revised timeline for the Solid Waste Resource Business Service Review final recommendations report. The November 20, 2017 Council meeting and report are rescheduled to March 2018. The new timeline will: allow the project team to account for coming changes to the Waste Free Ontario legislation in the final recommendations; and give the project team time to do the additional research and analysis requested by Council at the September 18 meeting. This includes research on: Social and environmental factors impacting Guelph’s waste services Detailed Material Recovery Facility (MRF) review, including Simcoe and Guelph materials and capture rates Related contract reviews Commodity streams and market trends Additional financial analysis In the meantime, the City will work to address… Continue reading Revised timeline for Solid Waste Resource business service review

Five of six Guelph waste services meet or exceed financial benchmarks Guelph, Ont., September 7, 2017– A special Council meeting will be held on Monday, September 18 at 7 p.m. at which staff will present initial findings of the Solid Waste Resources (SWR) business service review in an interim report. Council won’t be asked to make any decisions at the meeting; there are no staff recommendations in the report, merely an overview of findings to date. The report details that, while service review work is ongoing, initial findings show that five of six City of Guelph waste services are in line and cost competitive with comparator municipalities. The SWR business service review examines waste services in six service groups: Curbside waste collection including leaf and… Continue reading City shares early findings from Solid Waste Resources business service review

Pilot program aims to reduce recyclables going to landfill Guelph, Ont., Wednesday, June 28, 2017 – Wait! Don’t toss that empty plastic sports drink or water bottle into the garbage; use the blue recycling cart that’s provided. That’s the message from City staff to park users visiting one of Guelph’s 30 community and neighbourhood parks that are part of a two-stream (garbage and recycling) collection pilot program. “Guelph’s residents are already recycling at home and we want to encourage that same behaviour in our parks,” says Dave Beaton, supervisor of Trails and Natural Areas Stewardship. In May, the City installed 150 recycling blue carts and 50 waste grey carts in parks that have sports fields. To assist park users with what goes where, signs are… Continue reading Sorting it right in Guelph’s parks this summer

Staff checking waste carts for correct sorting Guelph, Ont., May 11, 2017 – Starting next week City staff will evaluate how well residents sort their waste into the three streams—organics (green cart), recycling (blue cart) and garbage (grey cart)—and give residents sorting tips. “Proper waste sorting prevents organics and recyclables from going to landfill, ensures valuable materials are recycled, and helps maintain Guelph’s waste diversion rate,” said Heather Connell, the City’s manager of integrated services at Solid Waste Resources. “We want to check in with our community to see how residents’ waste sorting efforts are going and to remind them of what goes in each cart.” Over the next few months, City staff will visit Guelph neighbourhoods to check the contents of households’ waste carts.… Continue reading City takes hands-on approach to residential waste diversion

The purpose of the business service reviews is to assess what services the City should be delivering, at what level or standard, and how best to provide those services. Continue reading City initiates business service reviews

Medical waste generated from a residential property, including empty colostomy bags, catheters, used bandages, dialysis bags, intravenous (IV) bags and tubes, without sharps and syringes attached are acceptable in your grey cart. Never put these items in your blue or green cart as this puts Solid Waste staff at risk. Please place these items inside two clear plastic bags (double-bagged) before putting them in your grey cart. Needles and syringes should never be put in your waste carts. These items can be brought to a local pharmacy or to the Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) depot at 110 Dunlop Drive for safe disposal. Before bringing them to the HHW depot, place them in an approved sharps container. Medical waste generated from a clinic, hospital or medical… Continue reading How to dispose of medical waste

Yard waste drop-off fee waived Guelph, Ont., December 22, 2016 – Starting January 1, some user fees at the Public Waste Drop-off will change and Saturday waste collection in the downtown core will begin. Fee changes Changes to the City’s waste fees were approved by Council as part of the 2017 budget. The fee increases more closely reflect the actual cost of processing waste materials and are now more in line with current market prices. The majority of the existing fees remain unchanged. “Although, bi-weekly curbside yard waste collection was not approved as part of the 2017 budget process, Guelph residents can dispose of their bagged or bundled yard waste for free, once again, at 110 Dunlop Drive starting in January,” explains Heather Connell, manager… Continue reading Waste user fees change and Saturday downtown waste collection starts January

Visit “I want to” at guelph.ca to access City’s most popular online services Guelph, Ont., Thursday, December 15, 2016 – Today, the City of Guelph introduced a new way to access its most popular digital services and released two new online tools. In January, 2016, the City asked Guelph citizens what online services would make their lives or businesses better. Of the 44 ideas that citizens contributed, the following were selected based on feasibility, departmental readiness and cost. I want to: A central hub to find more than 40 of the City’s most popular online services. The services listed will change each season based on what’s new and used the most. “I want to” is available on the homepage of guelph.ca. Waste reminder: This tool sends… Continue reading City improves online access to more than 40 services

Immediate action taken to reverse losses and ensure unit delivers value for Guelph Guelph, Ont., November 4, 2016 – Operating losses in the most recent budget year have led senior City officials to direct that Solid Waste Services will undergo a full service and business review. In addition, division management has already started work to bring a projected $3 million negative year-end variance closer to zero, including launching an independent, external financial audit. A staff report, to be presented to Council as Committee of the Whole November 7, outlines specific work underway to correct the existing divisional budget, build an accurate budget for 2017, and mitigate the current year’s variance. “We’re taking decisive action to turn the corner on the performance of this business operation,”… Continue reading Senior City administrators put Solid Waste unit at top of list of service reviews

Please slow down around waste collection trucks and follow these safety tips. Safety tips for drivers Slow down when approaching a waste collection truck. Look out for cyclists, pedestrians, and oncoming vehicles before attempting to pass a waste collection truck. The steering wheel is on the right side of the truck, so truck drivers may have difficulty seeing vehicles passing on the left. Avoid distractions like using your cell phone, radio or Global Positioning System (GPS) while driving. Remember, trucks make frequent stops. Please keep back a safe distance when driving behind a waste collection truck. Park your vehicle at least 1 metre away from waste carts at the curb. Safety tips for pedestrians and cyclists Stay back. Trucks have large blind spots, especially at the back and directly… Continue reading Stay safe around garbage trucks

Guelph, Ont., August 24, 2016– The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) awarded the City of Guelph with the 2016 Gold Excellence Award in the Collection Systems category at the Association’s annual conference held in Indianapolis, Indiana yesterday. “The City of Guelph is honoured to receive the Gold Excellence Award for our curbside collection system,” says Heather Connell, manager of Integrated Services, Solid Waste Resources. “Our collection and processing of residential curbside waste—successfully driven by our residents’ diligent three-steam sorting—has enabled Guelph to achieve the highest waste diversion rate in Ontario.” Vivian De Giovanni, supervisor of Program Development with Solid Waste Resources, received the award on behalf of the City for the Automatic Cart-Based Collection System entry. Guelph converted from manual bag-based curbside collection… Continue reading Guelph receives award of excellence for waste collection system

Help keep our staff safe, do not put hazardous materials in your carts. Continue reading Be careful about what you put in your waste carts

Place items loosely in waste carts, do not cram them in. Please make sure everything you put into your cart will fit with the lid closed. Overstuffed carts may not empty properly when tipped into the collection truck. Running out of space in your carts? Blue and grey carts are available in four different sizes: small to extra-large. To request a cart exchange contact Solid Waste Resources. There is a $35 cart exchange fee per cart to cover the cost of delivery and cleaning. For more information Solid Waste Resources 519-767-0598 waste@guelph.ca  

Guelph, Ont., July 13, 2016 – Guelph’s Material Recovery Facility is safe to be occupied, according to a structural engineer who assessed the building following the July 5 fire. “Solid Waste Resources staff is back inside the Material Recovery Facility, under safe working conditions,” says Cameron Walsh, plant manager with Solid Waste Resources. “The damage from the fire was contained to a few sections of the recycling conveyer and sorting screen used for processing residential material. As a result, we are currently running at a reduced capacity.” The damaged equipment will be replaced within the next four months. In the meantime, Guelph residents’ recyclables are being processed at Modern’s Buffalo Recycling Enterprise facility. “Our residents can rest assured their blue cart waste is being processed… Continue reading Guelph’s Material Recovery Facility structurally safe after fire

Update – 4:30 p.m. The Guelph Fire Department has extinguished the fire and is assessing the damage. A structural assessment will be conducted tomorrow. Public access to yard waste disposal, the household hazardous waste depot, the public drop off and transfer station reopens tomorrow. Curbside waste collection continues without disruption.   Guelph, Ont., July 5, 2016 – Around 10:30 this morning a fire broke out at the City’s Material Recovery Facility, located at 110 Dunlop Drive. Staff was safely evacuated and no injuries are reported. Public access to the Waste Resource Innovation Centre including the public drop-off, is temporarily closed. Telephone service is also unavailable at this time. An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the fire. The extent of the damage is not yet… Continue reading Update: Fire at Guelph’s Material Recovery Facility closes 110 Dunlop Drive

Customer feedback prompts recommended changes Guelph, Ont., June 24, 2016 – The City is recommending improvements to its residential yard waste collection program and Public Waste Drop-off (PDO) site, for consideration at the July 5 Infrastructure, Development and Enterprise Committee meeting. “We heard from Public Drop-Off users and Guelph residents there’s a need to expand residential yard waste collection and improve access at the Waste Resources Innovation Centre,” says Cameron Walsh, plant manager of Solid Waste Resources. “We’re recommending a number of changes to make yard waste processing and the Public Drop-off more efficient, user-friendly and cost-effective.” The recommendations to be discussed on July 5 include: Expanding residential curbside yard waste collection to run biweekly from April to November, starting in 2017. Improving site access… Continue reading City proposes improvements to yard waste collection and public drop-off

A look at some of the budget details On December 10, 2015, City Council approved a $216 million operating budget and a $61 million capital budget for 2016. This represents a 2.99 per cent tax increase over 2015. In approving the budget, Council approved $3.6 million in reductions to the base budget which included adjustments to purchased goods and services, revenue including a 15 per cent increase to vendor fees at the Guelph Farmers’ Market, and service level changes for Guelph Transit (described below). Within the capital budget, Council approved 124 projects including but not limited to Transit fare box replacement, vehicle and equipment lifecycle replacements, bridge replacements/upgrades (including Niska Bridge), South End Community Park continued implementation, and downtown parkade construction. The following identifies the… Continue reading 2016 budget highlights

The City of Guelph has posted this media release on behalf of Waste Diversion Ontario. Toronto, ON, January 22, 2014 – Waste Diversion Ontario announced today that the City of Guelph achieved the best residential waste diversion rate in 2012. The residential waste diversion rate is the percentage of Blue Box and other residential garbage reported to WDO that is kept out of landfill. Reports with amounts of these materials are submitted by over 400 municipalities across Ontario under WDO’s annual Municipal Datacall. Guelph took the top spot with an overall residential waste diversion rate of 67.72 per cent, well above the 2012 provincial average of 47.19 per cent. Guelph also came in first overall in 2012 for diverting the highest percentage of residential organic waste… Continue reading Guelph wins WDO’s first Ron Lance Memorial Award for highest residential waste diversion rate

Together, through diligent waste sorting, using carts instead of plastic bags, and processing our organic waste at our new facility, we diverted 68 per cent of our waste from landfill in 2012. Continue reading Above and beyond waste diversion

Guelph, On, November 6 – Three of the City’s recently won industry waste awards were presented to City Council on Monday evening by Solid Waste Resources employees. The two most recent were awarded by the Municipal Waste Association (MWA) for the City’s waste promotion and education efforts. The City received the 2013 Gold Promotion and Education Award for Calendar (distributed to over 30,000 households) for the City’s 2013 edition of the Conservation Calendar. Five other municipalities’ waste calendars were also submitted. Judges highlighted several of the Conservation Calendar’s features including the use of resident submitted photographs, Forrest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Rainforest Alliance Certified paper, and carbon-neutral printing. They also lauded the inclusion of other sustainable City initiatives such as cycling, sustainable landscaping and seasonal… Continue reading City awarded gold and silver from the Municipal Waste Association

Guelph, On, October 28, 2013 – The City was recognized last Thursday evening by The Recycling Council of Ontario (RCO) for its waste diversion achievements and communications efforts in 2012. The RCO’s annual Ontario Waste Minimization Awards recognizes exceptional results in waste reduction and recycling among municipalities and regional governments. Out of 11 submissions, the City received the highest score and was awarded gold in the combined category of diversion achievement and communication and promotion in recognition of its excellence and commitment to a sustainable environment. “This award shines a spotlight on Guelph’s dedication to sustainable waste diversion,” said Mayor Farbridge. “Guelphites’ commitment to three-stream sorting and the new carts are at the heart of our efforts to give waste a new life by keeping… Continue reading Recycling Council of Ontario recognizes City’s waste diversion achievements

The City Guelph was honoured for excellence in communications last night at the Canadian Public Relations Society Pinnacle Awards in Hamilton. Continue reading City of Guelph honoured for excellent communications