As Ontario attempts to move towards attaining 60% waste diversion, the concept of ' generator responsibility' is being embraced by many municipalities and is the comer stone of the extended producer responsibility model being proposed in the Ontario Legislature.
Currently, residents with large items have the following options for disposal:
- 1. Bring the item to a not-for-profit organization such as Goodwill, St. Vincent de Paul, various other charities, or thrift stores. Some of these organizations offer a limited curb side collection as well, at no charge;
- 2. Sell the item(s) in a garage sale, or on websites such as kijiji;
- 3. Bring the item to the Public Drop Off, open 6 days a week; a minor tipping fee would apply. Currently if the item is under 100kg (200lbs) the charge would be $5.00 for 4 such visits in a year.
- 4. Hire a private hauler to remove the items.
Unfortunately some residents chose to dump their items illegally. However, over the last 3o+ years there has not been any significant increase or decrease in illegal dumping in alleys. An audit of the alleys where garbage collection occurs was conducted on May 21, 2015. These alleys are generally bounded by Caron and Walker Rd, Tecumseh and Riverside Dr. The following is a list of the items dumped illegally.
| Couch/love seat | 32 |
|---|---|
| Mattresses | 31 |
| Recliners/chairs | 16 |
| Shopping carts | 16 |
| Toilets | 5 |
| Desk | 4 |
| Table | 3 |
| Tires | 3 |
| Loose wood | 3 |
| Door | 3 |
| Dresser | 1 |
| Counter top | 1 |
| Television | 1 |
| Headboard | 1 |
| Concrete | 1 |
| TOTAL | 121 |
Considering there are approximately 20,999 homes in the area surveyed, the amount of illegal dumping in alleys appears to be generated from a very small portion of residents. If each of the above items came from a separate home, this would represent only 0.58% of the homes.
A research of Ontario municipalities indicates that some form of curb side bulk collection is offered although at a wide variety of service levels. Some offer collection of bulk items with regular garbage collection; some offer the collection on specific days throughout the year; and some offer collection on an as requested basis (residents must call in to request the service). Most large municipalities limit the number of bulk items allowed per collection to 2 or 3. Despite the level of collection, all municipalities indicated that they still experience illegal dumping. -- l