Ward 8 city councillor Gary Kaschak is now serving a fourth term as rotating chair of the Essex-Windsor Solid Waste Authority (EWSWA).
Kaschak enters the role as discussions continue over the costs of the green bin program.
Essex County Council met last week pushing for more transparency about the cost of the program after public concerns over fees that could average about $150 per household each year.
Councillors discussed the need for better communication and public engagement, especially on social media, so residents understand decisions before costs show up on tax bills.
Council approved a motion calling for more data on how widely the program is being used, with final user fees expected to be set later this month.
Kaschak said services must be paid for but noted that the province assumed the costs of the red and blue bins by introducing single-stream recycling through Circular Materials.
"The former costs that residents had to pay for blue boxes now covered by the Ontario government, and now the food and organic waste costs, but it was put out a few years ago that it was probably going to be about a $3 a week charge for the good and organic waste program. 52 weeks x 3, you're in that $160/$180 a year to pick that up," he said.
He said some small costs now will hopefully avoid $1-billion down the road in having to replace the regional landfill.
"The city obviously doesn't have the land or the capacity to put up a new landfill down the road," Kaschak said.
"The county is sort going that they don't really want another landfill as well, so if you've got to put a landfill out north of London, north of Kitchener, imagine the transportation costs as well for the residents of Essex County."
Kaschak said EWSWA will continue its focus on waste diversion measures.
"We're just trying to keep that landfill open as long as we can to save the taxpayers, probably in 2040, it'll be a $1 billion charge, or 2045 to build a new landfill. Real important and a lot of focus on this for the city and also for the county communities as well," he said.
At the end of last month, EWSWA general manager Michelle Bishop told AM800 that 3,100 tonnes of food and organic waste had been diverted, equivalent to 60 NHL-sized arenas.