The Town of Essex is pushing for better communication as a new recycling collection service is set to begin.
Council recently passed a motion asking that a representative from Circular Materials attend a meeting in person or virtually to answer a list of questions.
Essex mayor Sherry Bondy says town administration and council members have been receiving many questions from the community just weeks ahead of the new program starting.
As of January 1, 2026, Circular Materials, a national not-for-profit organization, will be fully responsible for operating Ontario's recycling program in a new single-stream recycling collection system that will allow all recyclables to be put into one bin.
Bondy says the main question they've received is whether a smaller sized bin will be made available.
In November, the mayors of Aurora, East Gwillimbury, Georgina, King, Newmarket, and Stouffville pushed back against Circular Materials and were able to provide a smaller bin option alongside the 95-gallon bin option. The City of Windsor is now pushing for a smaller option as well.
Bondy says the town is unique in its challenges.
"We have a lot of Concession Roads where seniors are living there, and now they're faced with pulling this cart down a very long driveway where previously they would throw the recycle boxes in the back of their SUV, whiz down the driveway and drop them off. So it is coming up of all these questions about accessibility."
She says the main thing town officials are hearing from residents are around smaller bin options.
"I've watched some larger municipalities in the province have success with getting different sized bins. Some families want multiple bins, some families there's one elderly person, or one person that has accessibility issues with their bins. So, I really think that if anybody else in the region is getting it, then it should be offered to everybody in the province."
She says they haven't heard anything back from the company.
"In January we switch to these blue bins, and I think in January we're going to hear even more complaints, and residents won't really, truly, understand or be aware that it's not our responsibility, and they're going to expect municipal councils to come up with a solution when really... unless Circular Materials comes to the table... we're stranded on this one."
Bondy adds that council only has one more meeting this month, but she's hoping a representative will come to coubcil in the early new year.
The provincewide program starting in 2026 will also standardize what can be recycled, expanding the list to include items such as black plastic, coffee cups, frozen juice containers, and deodorant tubes.
Old bins, including Herby Curby bins, will no longer be collected once this new system starts.