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Environmental Services
Solid Waste Services
What we do
Environmental Services is made up of three divisions: Wastewater Services, Water Services, and Solid Waste Resources and our mandate is to protect the environment through compliance with provincial regulatory requirements.
Our Solid Waste Resources division plays a vital role in facilitating the collection, processing, diversion and disposal of waste generated within the City of Guelph.
Why we do it
The Strategic Plan’s Sustaining our Future priority guides our protection of the quality and quantity of Guelph’s groundwater and its efficient use; as well as our climate change mitigation efforts to reduce Guelph’s carbon footprint through the diversion of waste and use methane gas, a wastewater bio-solids by-product, as a source of energy.
Our team takes a collaborative approach to the delivery of environmental services with a highly skilled workforce and financial oversight that supports the vision of Working Together for our Future priority.
We maintain water, wastewater systems and solid waste assets in good working conditions through proactive maintenance programs and aging asset replacements to sustain current levels of service to our customers, thereby contributing to the strategic priority of Building our Future.
2021 to 2024+ initiatives
- Advance continuous improvement projects and investment in data management software to drive operational efficiencies through improved mobile access of critical information as well as cross-departmental corporate access.
- Continue to plan and implement energy efficiency initiatives to support Council direction on zero carbon
- Update the Solid Waste Management Master Plan to provide effective waste collection and increase diversion rates.
- Prepare for legislative changes related to the Waste Free Ontario Act and Extended Producer Responsibility for recyclables, electronic waste and hazardous waste to position Guelph for a successful transition.
Budget details
Operating budget—Revenues and expenses
2021 budget impacts
- $302,000 increase in Province of Ontario blue box grant funding is primarily driven by the net cost the City incurs to deliver the blue box program. The budget has been set using a two-year average.
- $141,600 increase in revenue for the proposed Yard Waste program; if approved a fee will be charged for yard waste that is dropped off at the Public Drop Off. Revenue offsets additional costs of delivering an enhanced yard waste program that includes an $87,900 increase in compensation and net $53,700 in operating expenses.
- Due to legislative pay equity concerns, an increase in compensation of $147,300 was required; this was offset by a decrease in purchased goods and services.
- $172,800 increase in purchased services for contractual haulage contracts price increases.
- $357,500 increase in compensation due to operating impacts from 2020 capital projects related to a growth Waste Packer and scale upgrades at the PDO including a supervisor position, a Waste Packer Operator and two site operators.
- $273,000 increase in internal charges related to corporate support for aging fleet and additional fuel and maintenance expenses from the new growth Waste Packer.
- The City plans to be an early adopter of moving recycling processing to Full Producer Responsibility in 2023/2024. There are no budget savings reflected in the forecast at this time, however more is expected to be known by the 2022 budget development.
2022 to 2024 budget impacts
- Inflationary cost increases related to compensation and haulage contracts.
- Increase related to operating impacts from vehicle expansion as a result of city growth and the associated costs related to haulage of waste, staffing and operating expenses.