Cart-based waste collection
Council approved the use of 120L carts as the standard for cart-based collection at its May 7, 2024, meeting. The approximate dimensions of the carts will be 48.6 cm by 95.5 cm. Further details are yet to be determined and will be presented to Council in late 2024 to early 2025.
The City of Kingston’s current waste collection system is a manual system, with garbage picked up by hand in bags or from containers and organics from small green bins. The waste industry as a whole has been undergoing significant changes in recent years and many cities and townsContinue reading
Council approved the use of 120L carts as the standard for cart-based collection at its May 7, 2024, meeting. The approximate dimensions of the carts will be 48.6 cm by 95.5 cm. Further details are yet to be determined and will be presented to Council in late 2024 to early 2025.
The City of Kingston’s current waste collection system is a manual system, with garbage picked up by hand in bags or from containers and organics from small green bins. The waste industry as a whole has been undergoing significant changes in recent years and many cities and towns have begun collecting garbage and organics using automated trucks. These trucks pick up dedicated carts using a mechanical arm attached to the truck, and no manual lifting is required. Kingston will be moving to an automated Garbage and Green Bin collection program starting in 2025.
The transition will require that residents be provided with collection carts that are compatible with the automated truck and the City would provide these carts for solid waste and organics collection. The benefits of this program include cleaner streets with less mess, impactful health and safety improvements for staff, and a more accessible solid waste collection system for all residents.
The City seeks to inform and consult the public on various components of the transition to the fully automated collection program including but not limited to cart sizes, collection frequency, cart storage and options for additional waste collections.
Get involved
- Starting Jan. 18, fill out our survey to provide feedback on cart sizes and collection frequency. The survey closes Friday, Feb. 9, at 4 p.m.
- Feedback can also be shared by phone or email. Please call 613-546-0000 Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. or contact us at wastestrategies@cityofkingston.ca.
- Review questions and answers in the Q&A tab below.
Join the project list to stay up-to-date on new opportunities!
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Cart size approved by Council
Kingston City Council approved the use of 120L carts as the standard for cart-based collection at its May 7, 2024, meeting.
The approximate dimensions of the carts will be 48.6 cm by 95.5 cm. Further details are yet to be determined and will be presented to Council in late 2024 to early 2025.
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Engagement summary
Why we engaged
The City of Kingston will be transitioning to an automated waste collection system beginning in 2025, approved by Council on Sept. 5, 2023. This transition requires public engagement to understand the wants and needs of the community to develop recommendations on topics such as collection frequency, preferred cart sizes and other programs of interest.
How we engaged
Engagement for the cart-based waste collection program took place in three stages:
A question-and-answer forum on Get Involved Kingston was open for submissions in October 2023
In-person drop-in sessions, where residents could ask questions and see and handle sample carts, were held in November and December 2023. There were five sessions hosted at community centres across Kingston
A preferences survey was open from Jan. 18 to Feb. 9, 2024. This survey was developed using feedback receiving during the first two engagement stages
These engagements were promoted through social media, news releases and through the Get Involved Kingston newsletter. Staff also informed residents who attended in-person sessions that a survey would be available in early 2024 for their participation and feedback.
Who we heard from
Get Involved Kingston Q&A statistics:
91 questions asked and answered
7 new registered users
Get Involved Kingston survey statistics:
1,849 completed surveys
275 new registered users
Next steps
The results from public engagement will be shared with the Environment, Infrastructure and Transportation Policies Committee and related departments. It will be presented to Kingston City Council for consideration and approval.
What we heard
The following are the results of multiple-choice questions posed as part of the engagement survey. Verbatim responses to open-ended questions follow. Feedback that was out of scope or did not follow the City of Kingston’s Guidelines for Participation were omitted.
Q1: When the City transitions to cart-based waste collection, there is the possibility of weekly or bi-weekly garbage collection. Bi-weekly collection of garbage could allow the City to offer year-round leaf and yard waste collection, which would increase the cost and number of carts required per household. Which collection type would you prefer?
Of the respondents, 1,382 (74.7 per cent) preferred weekly garbage collection, weekly organic collection, and only fall leaf and yard waste pick-up (status quo).
Q2: The City currently allows one 135L garbage can/bag per week per household, free of charge. Based on this information and the collection frequency you selected above, what size garbage cart would you need or want as part of this program? (Note: The survey employed Skip Logic, which meant respondents who chose “Weekly collection” in the first question were only shown sizes available for weekly collection.)
Of the respondents who preferred weekly collection, 947 (68.5 per cent) preferred a cart size of 120 litres. 405 (or 29.3 per cent) preferred a cart size of 240 litres.
Q3: The City currently allows one 135L garbage can/bag per week per household, free of charge. Based on this information and the collection frequency you selected above, what size garbage cart would you need or want as part of this program? (Note: The survey employed Skip Logic, which meant respondents who chose “Bi-weekly collection” in the first question were only shown sizes available for bi-weekly collection.)
Of the respondents who preferred bi-weekly collection in the first question, 356 (or 83.0 per cent) preferred a cart size of 240 litres. Only 49 (or 11.4 per cent) preferred a cart size of 360 litres.
Q4: Would you be willing to pay between $100 and $200 per year to increase the above cart capacities by 120L? This would replace the current bag tag program.
Of the respondents, 1,519 would not be willing to pay an additional fee to increase their standard cart size in place of the City’s current garbage bag tag system. Only 205 (11.1 per cent) of respondents would be willing to pay an additional fee.
Q5: If you infrequently use the current bag tag system, would you prefer to see an alternative flat rate disposal option added (e.g. up to 5 bags for $30) that is pre-booked (four to five days in advance of collection day).
Of the respondents, 1,050 (56.8 per cent) would not prefer to use a flat-rate disposal option in place of the current bag tag system. The remaining respondents would use the program or were unsure at this time.
Q6: If the City offered large-item garbage collection at a cost of approximately $30 per item and $10 for each additional item on pick-up day, would you use this program?
Of the respondents, 896 (50.9 per cent) would use a large-item collection program at an additional cost if the City offered it. The remaining respondents would not use the program or were unsure at this time.
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Preferences survey: Verbatim responses
The following are verbatim responses received as part of the cart-based waste collection preferences survey conducted on Get Involved Kingston in the winter of 2024 They have been organized by theme. Feedback that was out of scope or did not follow the City of Kingston’s Guidelines for Participation were omitted.
Question: Are there any other waste diversion programs you’d like to see implemented?
Diversion concerns
Incentive program like pass a course at the recycling centre to get free/discounted bag tags. To encourage people to learn how to properly sort their waste.
An electronics/electrical recycling program where anything with an electrical cord can be dropped off
Electronic waste recycling would be greatly appreciated.
Recycling of both paper and other recycle items should occur weekly. Not biweekly, as diverting from the garbage is increasing the number of bins used which takes up tons of space.
Biweekly yard waste pick up is essential. Driving to the yard waste dump has resulted in two flat tires for me due to sharp objects that have fallen off trucks using the dump. I am reluctant to go there, but have no choice as I garden. I moved here from Toronto where I had this bin system and it worked extremely well. I found the recycling wheeled bin that contained both plastics, glass, and paper much more effective than open bins, and I generated so little garbage weekly, that biweekly pick up was perfect.
we are rural residents and take our recycling to the recycling depot on a weekly basis so that animals do not get into it. Therefore, we are not using the pickup services. Can the city provide some sort of a credit because we are not using the services. Maybe something provided at time of drop off at the recycling depot.
"Compost dog waste
Expand the plastics recycling to take plastic mailing envelopes, for example. "
an option to dispose electronic waste would be helpful. While there is a way to recycle electronics through third parties (such as Best Buy), many people seem unaware of the importance of recycling electronic components. Many of these parts have valuable components that can be reused, or at least safely disposed.
"Please don't increase the size of garbage bins - I already see recycling done poorly in our neighbourhood and I feel that allowing more garbage will divert more recyclable materials to landfills
Can the recycling and organic waste drop off location open on Sunday as well - weekdays are not an option and only one day a week can be tricky
Large pickup day is great. I have seen this work well in Oakville.
I love the ""give away days"" in Kingston - such a great idea.
Battery and lightbulb pick up days quarterly?
More options to get rid of old couches and mattresses - the flat rate fee is a bit steep in Kingston"
I would like to see all of the recycling, waster and organics run under a single public operator, instead of the fragmented and highly privatized system that we currently have. We cannot rely on for-profit operators to try and reduce waste. This applies to household, commercial and institutional streams. One single waste management operator...like we do with water and sanitation.
"Education as to reduce, reuse, and proper recycling to lessen garbage. Educate as to appropriate biodiversity:
90% of Leaf clean-up is a misguided practice. Leaves provide protection for roots in the winter. Also habitat for pollinators ( biodiversity.) see Xerxes Leave the leaves. https://xerces.org/leave-the-leaves
Educate and incentivize home composting: I use a Lomi: it heats, mixes, minces & dehydrates left-over food, peels, egg shells, rotting fruit etc. It reduces volume & weight by 95%. It reduces the rotten food smell (that attracts rodents, flies & maggots) by 100% if you use the machine regularly and add some AEM (activated beneficial microorganisms). I use the product to help condition soil. If people don't garden it could be added to the green bin or taken to community gardens. The city could start by sponsoring some of these. I think I have saved the city more by using a Lomi than what it cost me originally.
This will reduce the rodent problem (I hear) the city has.
And it is good for the environment!"
More frequent recycling and less frequent garbage collection would be preferable. Compost accepting pet waste would also be nice.
Recycling collection becoming the responsibility of recycling producers beginning on July 1, 2025 seems like a very lame cop-out. Why shouldn't the City of Kingston continue to care about recycling within Kingston? There will definitely be lots of recycling diverted to landfills if left up to 'recycling producers' in 2025.
As I understand it, the change the city is implementing affects garbage and organics only. What about what we currently put in our blue and grey boxes? Unless a 3rd bin/cart to collect blue and grey box recyclables is also introduced, home owners will need to deal with 4 different collection containers -a bin, a cart and 2 boxes. Do what progressive cities do and have one bin for garbage, one bin for organics and one bin for all other recyclables, each a different colour. This would be more manageable for home owners, enable ALL recycling to be automated, and ensure a uniform collection system throughout the city. It's time!!!
Large items is good idea (for fee). Hopefully the recycling goes to bin system as well, will hopefully reduce blowing letter and critter issues. Going to the alternating blue and grey bin was not a great idea (particularly in the University District). Some students seem to struggle with keeping on top of the pick-up schedule (despite the great app!) and when they get behind by a couple of weeks things can really pile up.
e-waste is a big problem for us and others, and there is no organized way to get rid of it, as the hazardous waste collection does not accept it. A proper disposal and recycling program for this would help divert e-waste from trash, landfill, and overseas shipping.
Batteries, Electronics, other complex recycling materials - if we're serious about being a sustainable city! Would be willing to pay for pick-up (per above).
Yes, as a city we must figure out a way to provide the same recycling and green bin collection for our businesses downtown. Especially the restaurants.
"I think it would best to see better education programs on waste diversion - many people don't know why it isn't ok to put pizza boxes in the recycling bin, or what sorts of plastics are not recyclable and why.
I would also like to see expanded e-waste programs "
"(1)Have a waste disposal process for invasive plants as an option when dropping off plant material at the garden waste site. This would help prevent the spread of plants that are not easily composted, like Japanese Knotwood and dog strangling vine and various poisonous plants. You can refer to the Ontario Invasive Species recommendations. At least include a disposal process on the City Website to educate and inform citizens what to do with this type of invasive material.
(2) Include a process on the City recycling webpage to safely recycle sheets of glass too large for blue bins eg. from large picture frames."
I would like to see the hazardous waste depot opened year-round. I think this would certainly be useful. I also suggest the City could offer an electronic device recycling program as I don't think the local ReStore is capable of dealing with all this material. It's also disconcerting when you are trying to get rid of unwanted building materials or fixtures and even ReStore won't take them. I tried to donate several builder's grade ceiling lamps that were in pristine shape and was refused at ReStore. What happens next is these items end up in our landfills so perhaps the City could provide other venues for people to dispose of this type of material. Perhaps a municipal flea market or other initiative would help.
"~Weekly recycling pickups
~Option for 120L bin for garbage even if we go bi-weekly OR a smaller option if it is weekly. 240L is a lot of garbage even if it is bi-weekly. There should be a small fee for that amount of garbage.
~Consider a small fee be put in place for those not using recycling and putting out excess garbage or perhaps better to incentives those that are
~Incentives for residents putting out less waste (i.e. instead of putting out a weekly garbage bin, something else could go out like a brush)
~Consider incentives to reduce landfill such as a $10 deduction if no garbage is put out
~Educate and assist residents with removing invasive plants. Buckthorn is rapid in Kingston and will only get worse."
I think an accessible large item option is critical given the waste move in days can generate in housing areas around the universities and colleges. Ex. Couches, tables, shelves. There's a big demographic that doesn't have access to cars to bring things to the dump. I'd also like to see more nettle return schemes like a machine (you see them in europe) or the beer store does. It could encourage recycling easier materials like glass bottles. Maybe impossible but if municipal governments supported this somehow, it would be great I think. Also more batteries and other special waste disposal days! Or more battery disposal drop off containers around municipal buildings like city hall or in stores. It would encourage people not to just throw them out. What about Keurig type pods? Or other speciality hard to dispose of items. You could do disposal days for them similar to batteries.
I understand that City is not including recycled waste collection in this survey but it is a huge problem putting plastic and paper in boxes outdoors to have there contents blown around by the wind is dumb. If you walk along the tree lines and waterways after a windy day you will see garbage blown every where. Its almost counter productive to put recyclable waste out with not have some type of covered protection on them. A blue and grey bin the same style as the currant green waste bin would solve this problem.
"Proper recycling programs that actually recycle and not continue to put into landfill elsewhere away from public eye. Proper recycling would reduce garbage collecting overall.
Tax reduction incentives for good garbage and recycling practices.
Bylaw enforcement with incentives for garbage, large items and property standards on properties without needing to be complaint driven and instead an actual task force at work cleaning up the city overall.
Keep weekly programs!! To move to anything less would further increase the unsightly garbage messes and smells throughout the city and continue to add to the already out of control rodent issues.
Education and awareness for better use or disposal of leaves and garden waste."
"Repair workshops for citizens, a kitchen tool library, as well as a household tool library (hand tools and power tools). I volunteered at a kitchen tool library when I lived in Portland, Oregon. It was extremely popular, both for donations of gently used kitchen tools (i.e. blenders, cookie sheets, InstaPots) and use by community members. The unit got monetary donations, as well, and used the funds to purchase new items for the collection.
Additionally, increasing Kingston's adoption of and education on the seven Rs - rethink, reduce, refuse, reuse, repurpose, rot and recycle, with an emphasis to citizens that recycle is the LAST thing on the list. Publicly advertised tours of the Kingston recycling and composting facilities would also be fantastic and extremely eye-opening. "
"Upgrades to recycling plants to allow animal waste to be collected in green bins as other municipalities allow.
More allowance for big item pick-up or more information of when this is allowed to occur, if it already is."
Recycling boxes near communal mail box hubs so people don't throw their junk mail into the garbage cans nearby.
Maximize true recycling first (how much recycling actually end up in waste??) and then use Waste-to-Energy facilities. While some pollution is created by the burning process, there are mitigation technologies to filter and re-use emissions. This is far better and dumping waste into the ground or the multiple "illegal dumps" where people dispose of their waste because current diversion programs are to restrictive/expensive.
Grass clippings and leaves collection. Current method of individuals driving to the recycling center encourages the use of cars and trucks resulting in pollution.
Are there options for textile recycling? I sew and don’t know where to bring my textile scraps that are too small to use. I also would like options for more than gently used clothing that is no longer appropriate for second hand shops/donations. Would you consider pick up of electronic waste once or twice per year.
"I believe more education must be geared towards educating visiting international students on waste diversion.
Additionally, recycling vending machines should be installed at high traffic areas for pedestrians. Something like if you input a pop bottle you will get seeds to feed the birds or funds will be added to your card/account to purchase other goods or to pay for garbage bag tags."
Pick-up option for e-waste, perhaps once a year. I have no car, and no way to take e-waste to Habitat for Humanity. I would be willing to pay, maybe $5 per box, to have the 8 boxes currently in my garage taken for e-waste recycling. I suspect other seniors share my situation. I don’t want to put it into regular garbage stream, but can’t dispose of it.
Electronic recycling is very needed. Many larger vices also have eco waste stations to drop off electronics and other eco waste materials. This should be introduced to Kingston.
Year round hazardous waste… one day a week
Hazardous waste spot open all year
Advertise already available diversion programs before implementing anything else
Bi-weekly brush and leaf pickup only 8 months per year. Cant see any use in winter months
Commercial composting
Dog poop and cat litter disposal people using our green bin, so our green bin is hardly ever emptied and now we do not want to use it as we have other people's dog and cat waste.
I hope you will continue to support the Giveaway Days and programs that also encourage reusing items rather than sending to the landfill.
Would like to continue the possibility to put both yard waste and food waste in green bin
all appliances small or large including furniture.
Allow for dog and cat waste to go into the green bin. I wouldn’t have to use single-use plastic bags for my dog's poop if I could just scoop it directly into the green bin with other compostable waste.
Access to a re-use store. People go through different phases of their life. They have items - like beds - that they no longer need but that are in excellent condition. Rather than have them treated as junk and taken to a dump, a re-use store where large items could be taken where others could pick them up if they needed them.
something for clothing/fabrics
Encourage people not to put out their bins if they aren’t full, since stopping and accelerating the trucks are what consume the most fuel. So this would reduce both fuel costs and CO2 emission.
Yes improve the composting to catch methane gases, accept kitty litter and accept stretchy bubble wrap. Also accept empty and dry metal paint cans. Have a day when people can put out good stuff that they do not want. Have hazardous waste days every quarter for chemicals, fluoroesent tubes, batteries, etc.
Car litter. My garbage would be reduced to one small kitchen garbage bag if we had some type of car litter recycle program
"Electronic or hazardous waste ( paint cans, ect) pickup.
Garbages near mailboxes.
Pet waste or increase public garbages in residential areas
Considering the turnover of military and student residents in Kingston, a 2x Yearly free large waste collections, along side the paid program. Not everyone has the means to transport to the dump. A couch rotting on the curb for weeks and months is an eyesore"
I would really like to see it mandated that institutions like hospitals and apartment blocks use green bins.
Divert the wasted funds from the Kingston police on more services for residents. Public audit of all city spending to find waste and over spending which can be diverted back into services.
Pickup things like batteries more often and apartments need drop offs. Too much electronic waste.
Make hazardous waste a year round service.
I have used the green drop box pilot program for collecting old clothes, linens, etc and very much appreciate it.
Sell compost to residents?
"Old/broken Electronic pickup, similar to battery @ twice/year
Christmas tree pick up"
Apartments (like all of Homestead) that do not use any composting, should start.
"E-waste pick up or is this included in large item pick-up?
More frequent pick up of batteries"
Christmas tree pick up. Pick up green, blue and grey bins weekly. That's where most of my household waste is diverted.
Large item pick-up could be scheduled twice a year (spring and fall) instead without any extra cost as is done in many municipalities already.
Really like the proposed large-item garbage collection proposal.
Hazardous waste pick up
Large item pickup twice a year. In the spring and fall.
Free large item disposal 4 times a year.
Hazardous waste
Hazardous waste days increased
The city should do free big garbage pick up twice a year. This might stop people from putting big garbage on the curb all year long hoping it miraculously disappears. Not everyone has the money to pay for pick up or a truck to take it to the dump.
Pet waste. So sick of seeing garbage cans filled with things that could be composted.
Additional giveaway days where people can put things outside at the curb for others to take.
Semi annual bulk waste pick up
I would like to see one of those "too good to go" bays at the dump - items that may still have use such as clean scrap wood and other construction material, partially full paint cans, furniture and so on.
I wish the green bin worked better. I don't use it because of the mess and stink in the summer
Put green bins in the library!!!! The library has lots of programs with organic waste and it all just goes into the garbage
Electronic waste pick up several times a year or annually. I’ve not seen mention of what surface is required for the automated pick bins. How will street cleaning in winter impact this system? What responsibility will landlords have for student rental properties for educating renters or managing inappropriate/inadequate management by occupants?
curbside hazardous waste pick up once per year
Hazadous wastecollection
Something for electronics and furniture/mattresses
Building material - Lumber, Drywall,
A toxic taxi program existed in our previous community. We could call for hazardous waste pick up. It was a wonderful service.
Yard waste/leaf pickup biannual or quarterly...including Christmas tree pickup
I would love to see large item garbage collection, and would be happy to pay for the service.
Keep smaller green bins.
Will the above help Kingston meet waste diversion goals set by Ontario/Canada? What about other items like batteries, hazardous waste? Without pick-up these are going to landfill.
Something done about the amount of waste student rentals produce, not just during move in/out, but all school year long
Electrical and hazardous waste
Regular large item pickups are definitely needed. Such a pain to have two items and the only option is to pay $50 to the waste management place, or obviously some people just dump it in a park or somewhere. I think the idea of a $30 for one item and $10 for every other item will not solve the problem of illegal dumping. Still too expensive.
Occasional collection of light bulbs, fluorescent lights, Christmas lights, etc.
Electronic waste
Pick up old paint. Maybe once or twice a year
Large item pickup would be a huge improvement for folks who don't have access to a car - just want to say thank you for considering this!
"Free mattress drop off programs that are not run by a business.
If not free a minimal charge."
Large item pickup should be free once per year.
Option for hazardous waste pickup a few times per year.
Hazardous waste collection
I would like to see reasonably priced non-private options to dispose of my waste.
I like the current red tag system for extra garbage bags (bought 6 tags 5 years ago and haven't used them yet). We do need some help with large disposal items that we have difficulty in driving out to the dump. Don't mind paying for that type of pre-scheduled pickup.
Electronics, batteries, wood and/or hazardous waste pickup.
The ability to put 1 yard waste bag out per month, without a fee attached to it
Taller wheeled cans so the disabled can take the garbage out.
You need to get back big item pick up DAY. Where people can get rid of their big items ONCE FOR FREE in the year. Having no possible way to get rid of big items is the cause of so much being dumped illegally.
we use to have a few days in May that everyone could put out whatever they wanted and people were free to pick up items they could use. This was a good opportunity for people to get rid of "stuff" without it going to landfill sites.
Regular yard waste appeals to me
I like the idea of cart based pick up biweekly. If the cart is of the larger type then I can store my full bags in the cart away from animals.
I would rather see programs geared towards waste production reduction. This could be in the form of financial incentives to vendors to use more environmental packaging, or just less packaging, it "take home container" programs for leftovers and the like.
should be green bin collection for apartment buildings
Pet waste.- kitty litter or dog waste
I'd love to transition out of the bag tag program. I've long felt it really just means hygiene availability for the wealthy and people in poor neighborhoods just tend to throw their garbage out into the road. It's a terrible system
I would like the city to consider a biannual battery and/or waste paint can collection. Perhaps for a charge - $40 per year?
For question 1, there should be a fall and a spring pick-up. The fall one needs to be after the leaves have fallen (not at the beginning of November).
I would like to see the ability to put pet waste in the green bin like they do in Kitchener Waterloo - it is possible.
The antiquated bagged leaf pickup needs to stop. Leaves are organic, feed the soil, provide insect hibernation, butterfly and moth eggs, thus feeding birds during critical times and is in line with mono lawn mentality. Leave the leaves. We can do better than waste tax dollars when there are alternatives homeowners can adapt to while giving our fragile eco system support. Offer leaf bins for homes, people spend hours bagging hundreds of bags, a wire bin or designate yard area for leaves. We can do better. Bagging leaves in the fall destroys food for birds in the spring.
Smaller container options especially for green bins
I think the city does a very good job at waste diversion. We are a family of five (3 adults and 2 kids) and we are lucky to fill a garbage bag.
Other cities and towns have unlimited large items pick ups once in spring and again in the fall we should not have to pay or try and find someone to take stuff to dump and pay disposal fee. We pay enough for the crappy service we get. This is my second green bin broken within a year and this winter already garbage men are in a hurry and he walked right past by bag ring door bell saw him clearly. Then took four days to get picked up as my pick up is a Friday.
Happy to hear there may be year round leaf/yard waste collection (At least it should be offered in the spring as well) if we do not have bi-weekly collections
It would be nice if the city worked with terracycle to divert things like clean toothpaste tubes, clean deoderant containers, etc ftom landfill. Also perscription pill bottles that have had the oabel clean off shoukd be recycled
Keep the proposed garbage bin as small as possible, ie 120 l to promote and increase recycling
Would be great to have a metal day pick up once or twice a yr
"Weight limit should be gone when they use the new bins I would believe. Sometimes my garbage cans have dirty cat litter and it weighs down the bag. ??
"An additional brush pick up in spring.
Vacuum curbside leaf pick up, rather than bags."
This is a "big picture" option, but the waste drop-off stations (similar to molok bins) could be a better approach and save the city money. Take a look at Amsterdam's waste collection system. Each neighbourhood has a waste drop-off location that citizens can use at any time, and the city picks them up periodically.
Year round Hazmat waste available
"1 medium size bin on wheels for garbage and another for recyclables and another for organics.
We would put them out when full. So the frequency for organics might be monthly most of the year. "
Is an annual or biannual hazardous waste pickup feasible? I don't know what kind of restrictions or requirements a curbside pickup would have.
Leaf and brush pick up in the spring and fall
Electronic recycling
Scrap metal. Currently is dropped off at KIMCO.
Expand the green bin program to include dog and cat excrement
Considering charging for all garbage (including the first bag). Garbage represents a failure of composting and recycling and should be minimized. A 5L bag per person, per biweekly period seems reasonable. 135L per household/week seems excessive.
Monetary reward for households producing less waste
Twice a year, it would be beneficial I think for the city to collect all obsolete electronic devices (TV's, computers, radios, etc.)
Door to door hazardous waste collection several times per year.
More frequent yard waste pick-up would be ideal, but not at the cost of reduced garbage pick-up. Even once a month Spring-Fall would be great.
"Green Bins - organics - bi weekly
Garbage - Bi Weekly
Yard Waste - Spring and fall "
Old electronics and smaller appliances that BestBuy doesn't take like dehumidifiers, window AC units etc.
Offer large-item garbage collection for FREE twice a year
Pet waste. Many municipalities allow this to be flushed or composted. But Kingston sends it to the landfill.
Would love to have an at once a quarter "free" days and to be able to have large item pickup, even for a cost<; by calling ahead.
Bulk garage, like old appliances furnitures to be picked up like they do in Toronto as per request free of charge.
We’ve lived in a city with bi-weekly garbage collection and they offered 3 garbage bin sizes. The medium was no extra charge, large had an extra annual charge and small provided a credit.
Textiles being recycled
Eliminate leaf collection all together. Leaves build soil and are sustenance for billions of microorganisms. Leave the leaves where they fall. Mulch them if you must.
Spring yard waste pick up
Even before this transition, I have always said we need Leaf and Brush pick up 3 times a year! Spring, Summer and Fall. You do not need it bi-weekly as per question #1.That just increases taxes!
More frequent battery disposal pick up dates.
Cat litter waste accepted as part of organics, however it may not be worth the additional cost to improve the plant to process this
"I generally try to use most of my leaves as mulch, but inevitably I end up with some extra yard waste every now and then (noxious weeds, fallen twigs and branches, etc). I find it challenging to manage it all with only 1 yard waste pickup in the fall. Adding 1 additional yard waste pickup in the fall or even 1 in the spring would be very appreciated.
That being said, rather than focusing on “No Mow May”, perhaps the City could increase “Leave the Leaves”-type education campaigns (which could reduce the amount of leaf waste) and other evidence-based practices to increase the ecological benefits of lawns and gardens in the city. "
Look at Oshawa for large item collection. Once a year you can have one free collection of 12 items. Extra collections are $35 per collection of up to 12 items. They collect and grind the items right there. Very good program. $30 per item as suggested is too much.
Greater promotion of green bin use.
Municipal (non commercial) transfer station for disposal of large garbage items. Significant illegal dumping around Kingston in part because there is no cost-effective legal solution for disposal of one-off large items.
More frequent pick-up of hazardous house hold wastes, like CFLs, paint.
More garbage disposals available on city streets especially walking routes such as Union St, King St, and Earl St
Leave and brush pick up once in the fall and once in the spring
Xmas tree
More green bin systems in places like the library and near/around downtown/city hall. I realize pests can be a problem but there should be some way of managing it.
I would like to see large-item pickup without a charge. I am rural and the lack of this currently leads to illegal dumping in rural areas, both large items and regular trash. Most of my usage of the bag tag program is for this purpose - I put out an extra bag of trash from the ditch most weeks.
Quarterly leaf and brush pickup, annual curbside hazmat pickup, spring mulch delivery (pay service)
Would it be too tricky to collect complex items like electronics?
"Being able to schedule pick-up of large items would be great but $30 sounds excessive. People will continue to dump. No way to provide this service for free?
How about having Hazardous Waste Days/Weekends at various locations throughout the city, throughout the year? Not everyone has a vehicle to get to the dump. (And why isn't the Hazardous Waste Depot open all year?!)"
batteries and bulbs
Car seat recycling
Electronics pick up
Regular leaf/small yard waste pickup.
"Dangerous goods facility should be open year round
There should be yard waste collection in the spring and the fall"
"Battery and electronics pickup twice a year
Have small deposits paid for glass jars
I would really love to send the plastics back to the manufacturers
Give a one time tax break to businesses who switch to non plastic packaging to encourage best practices asap"
Spring leaf pickup for garden waste.
An e-waste day would be nice
I would like to see brush and leaf pickup offered twice a year. Once in the spring and once in the fall. I don't see the need to have bi-weekly lead and bruch pickup especially during the winter months.
Leaf pick up should be in the spring and fall. The long line ups and wait time in the spring - LARGE carbon footprint. The cost quoted for large pick up items of $30 is way too high.
Yard waste grass etc. on a regular basis
"Question 1: Spring leaf and brush clean up would be wonderful not just fall. I've lived in my home for 26 years and there is two times a year that yard waste is a challenge with our street full of mature trees. Not all trees drop their leaves at the same time. On an average year I have any where from 15 to 20 bags of leaves and yard clean up in the fall and in spring at least 10 bags of garden plants and leaves from the neighbourhood. I don't remove flowers with seeds in the fall and leave them for the birds over winter.
Question 4: As for tags, I have never used them and if a person is not going to bother to recycle the fees to dump into landfill should be expensive not cheap. Banning products that can't be recycled should be happening. For example: Many towns in the East Coast do not recycle glass and plastic bags, well if that is the case than it shouldn't be on a shelf in a grocery store for people to buy it.
Question 5: There are a lot of companies that do the pick up of waste - for example a water tank I just replaced this month was picked up by a guy who then stips them down and takes it to recycle the metal. Making sure that garbage is recycled is the whole idea in the end not put into landfill. "
Yes, perhaps there should be more regulations to decrease the amount of garbage and containers, like forcing people and businesses to use biodegradable materials.
Still waiting for biogas
Electronic waste definitely- we need a program that is trustworthy and viable
Large items for sure as well as electronics
small appliance collection area like current electronics drop off
Certainly would like to see more frequent pickup of used small batteries and fluorescent and led bulbs.
"I like the idea of large item pickup for the Queens District!!
Generally however we should all try and reduce our waste stream,....but the reality is we have to live with it until we incinerate! I would pay more for this. European countries do it!
(rather see this than filling holes or building mountains!)"
In Toronto, we paid a yearly $65 fee to have heavy items out on garbage day for free, this included furniture and mattresses. It excluded building materials which had to be brought to the dump instead.
"Large item collection is an awesome idea.
Have neighbourhood hazardous waste drop off because the KARC is not accessible for folks without vehicles.
I’d like to see organized swaps, repair cafes (the current one at the library is too infrequent), and training programs on how to do repairs around the home - so that people repair their large items themselves rather than sending to landfill and buying new. Also training on choosing eco-friendly materials when making improvements and renovations. "
A scheduled Spring garden waste pick-up. The open bins for paper & glass/plastic/tins collection is a nightmare on any windy day please push for a covered collection bin system with the recyclers. If you have to go to a bi-weekly garbage pick-up only do it during the winter months and don't shortchange the pick-up quantity.
Large item pickup without a charge. I don't know of any other city in Ontario that fails to offer this basic service on a weekly basis.
Weekly or biweekly yard waste (brown bag) pickup
I’d like to see the household hazardous waste be open for more hours, including some winter opening.
Weekly pick up essential for families with babies in disposable diapers. Not feasible to keep diapers for 2 weeks to wait for collection.
Battery disposal
Better promotion/socialization of the current programming (yard waste, metal waste, wood waste).
Yes, reduced garbage volume/size cart options for reduction in property tax (that is, incentive-based diversion options).
Perhaps some sort of incentive program for waste reduction.
I am very happy that the city provides water collection barrels at cost every spring. I'd love to see the city offer the same for compost containers for residents. I'd also like it if the city had it's own compost program, where residents could purchase compost from the city for our personal gardens. This would be especially helpful for people living in condos or apartments who want to have small gardens in planters or boxes on their patios, balconies, etc. but also for those of us who don't or can't compost at our own homes.
I would love to see electronic waste collection or a place to drop off such waste. I would also love to see the implementation of a reuse store like the city of Edmonton.
Keep the battery pickup once per month and folks could place the dead batteries on top of the cart
Have seen a system where people rake leaves into the curb and a truck comes and vacuums them up.
"A full user pay system for garbage based on cart size with an option for a smaller cart. Garbage pick up should be removed from the tax base and become 100% user pay to incentivize waste reduction.
A shift to a maximum of biweekly pickup, regardless of bin size. This could and should happen immediately across the City and doesn’t need to be tied to the roll out of the bin program. Eliminate the “free” extra garbage bag after holidays. We don’t generate any extra garbage around holidays because of our waste reduction and diversion efforts. It is frustrating to be paying for other households extra waste on my tax bill. An extra garbage should be 100% user pay 100% of the time, no exceptions.
I lived in Germany and loved the cart based garbage collection system. They also had a system for collecting and sorting still good items, like clothing and dishes. In supporting people who 'bin' for extra income, the waste in this city for still good items is unbelievable. We need a collection system for still good items to divert those items from heading to the landfill.
Enforce waste reduction on product suppliers (e.g. reduce packaging, recyclable packaging).
More frequent GiveAway days - weekly in warmer months; promotion and resourcing of right to repair movement/repair cafes.
One or two day a year for large items (free) the city will be saving money on labor.
In some countries (e.g. Netherlands), you can have furniture and renovations (e.g. left over 2x4s) items picked up for donation to the poor or habitat for humanity type of establishments. You have to book the request online and then an email is sent to you indicating what day the items need to be out curb side. These large items are diverted from the dump and put to good use.
I manage rental homes in Kingston but also own my own house. Some municipalities offer toxic waste pick up upon request (google Sudbury toxic taxi) and although I am always dropping items off on Lappan's lane from spring to fall my concern is that tenants simply flush or discard their hazardous waste as it is to them too complicated to drive to the drop off area. Not everyone has a vehicle either, and there are many elderly folks that simply do the same or accumulate these products as they have no other way to dispose of these. There is also the issue of the service only being available between April to November, if a tenant is moving out in the off season then they will simply discard their waste in the same manner. Perhaps this could be introduced on a fee base system throughout the year?
Christmas tree pickup
I think a tag system would help reduce waste and reduce taxes. In this way each residence is provided with, say 26 garbage tags and 26 organic tags. Additional tags would be available for purchase. Those of us who are very waste conscious should be able to benefit from our efforts.
I wish that hazardous waste or battery collection was a once a year option, as I worry that people dump these items illegally so they don't have to pay.
I do not need bi-weekly yard waste pickup - perhaps once per month from March to November would be sufficient. I think that pickups of E-waste, metals, and other could be useful, although perhaps just a couple of times per year (or maybe just set up a few drop of locations throughout the city for a couple days in the year).
"Anything that would include the pick-up of grass clippings would be appreciated. At present, I don't believe that much of that
can go into the organics bin. I could be wrong but neighbours have told us that they get notes saying there are too many or that the green bin is too heavy. Would there be a weight limit to the automated machinery?"
I think offering a solution for large item pickup is an excellent way to discourage dumping. I would like to see a lower fee, but I think it is a service that Kingston needs.
"it is essential that green bins be collected weekly, especially in the warmer months
households should be assured that all generators of compost (food stores)are in compliance with organics diversion
there needs to be some measure for ensuring household compliance with green bin use; I see far too too few households in my community using them"
Electronic days
Semi-annual electronic waste/hazardous waste/batteries pick-up.
I would like to see Christmas trees collected.
Spring pick up of brush and spring clean up debris.
What about textiles? Old bedding, clothing, sewing scraps, etc
Door to door electronic waste collection, possibly once per month.
Availability to drop off household waste in person, from the households
Increased plastics collection (i.e. the type of plastics that we can recycle, like the clean, plastic toothpaste containers). I think that there should be a surcharge on single-use plastics at the point of sale if there are other alternate packaging options available and that the manufacturers should be held accountable for the containers that they use. Encourage people to use paper or biodegradable materials to dispose of their garbage and to reduce, reduce, reduce!!! Maybe there should be a reward system for those who do not produce a lot of waste that goes to the landfill. Maybe offer weekly suggestions for avoiding / repurposing non-recyclable items. Help us to get off of our addiction to plastics. Readers could offer suggestions as to how to do this as well.
Definitely add pick of yard waste in brown bags. Save us from lifting and driving the bags to Lappans.
Yard waste disposal site in the west end
A large item pick up day a few times a year. The price to dispose of large items in this city is prohibitive and hard to access. This could go a long way to prevent illegal dumping
Ability to divert all fabric wastes in a responsible and sustainable manner.
ewaste pick up 4 times a year
Yes, moneary penalty for people that don’t recycle or use green bins!
Xmas tree
Which ever waste diversion programme makes it more difficult for people to simply throw things in to the garbage bag as opposed to recycling and composting is the programme I would like to see implemented. Smaller garbage bins would be preferable. I have neighbours who have never put out a green bin or recycling bins. In nine years. Everything is put into the garbage bin.
Christmas tree pickup would be great to add (extra fee ok )
"1) more E-Waste drop off locations
2) increase battery disposal pickup - residential. "
In the summer months when the weather is warmer, I would like to see green bins continued to be picked up weekly due to the rotting food and also the insects it appears to attracts. I like the idea of a large item pick up possibility as needed!!
There's a day once per year for people to put usable items on the curb for anyone to take. It would be great to do this once or twice a month in the good weather. It also might be helpful to consider sponsoring a flea market once or twice a year to keep items out of the landfill.
More giveaway days would be helpful to reduce amount that goes into landfill. Also options to help the homeless encampments.
Electronics?
Really think the city needs to incentivize green bin use. Too many people are not utilizing green bins. Has this been discussed? Maybe going with the smaller garbage bin to encourage green bin use is the best option.
Something that deals with dog feces
Brush pickup
Battery colllection pickup or hazardous wastes
The idea of a large item pickup is excellent and I would be willing to pay for that. People who live downtown and have no car or small cars get stuck often when they can't get large end of life items thrown out.
All apartment/condo buildings should have mandatory composting programs at this point. We need to cut down on our garbage.
This survey is a farce. Only a handful of options are offered. It offers little choice. Do I want coffee with cream, milk, or black? If I want tea, there is no option! Many residents in apartments see trucks trying to load bins, now, which are noisy and inefficient. Waste will begin to rot and stink on a two-week schedule. The fees suggested are a cash grab by greedy bureaucrats. City Staff have no real clues about re-cycling!
e-waste
I would like to see a full pay per use system for garbage with no charge for organics and recycle. This might actually encourage residents to divert/reduce their waste going to landfill.
Would like to see expansion of the organics program - Guelph accepts pet waste and Toronto accepts menstrual products.
"With respect to question 1, I would like to see both fall and spring brush collection. This was not an option to select. Weekly garbage, organics and fall & SPRING brush pickup.
I only have 1 bag per week. I would like to see SPRING BRUSH PICKUP ADDED. The large article pickup is an excellent idea. "
" Large item (like Mattresses) could have a drop off point for diversion. There are metals there and the plastics/foam is recycled elsewhere. This is an alternative to waste transfer point dropoff.
Incineration is a possibility. It balances against Climate Action, but if the heat is used for power generation, heat, etc., that might mitigate the effects."
More convenient hazardous waste and/or technology disposal pickup options.
Inclusion of garden waste in green bins. Currently only picked up if food waste showing. What if I’m careful and I have no/very little food waste?
Push for more green bin use.
Pet waste and bags
some kind of program to collect wood. Currently there is no way to get rid of cut up 2*4s or bits of plywood or garden ties etc.
monthly battery collection
larger bins needed ASAP and leaf collection needs to be frequent. I have 4 massive trees on my property. waiting for the one day every fall is a nightmare and these bags take up too much room in my garage
Large item pickup seems very sensible even if I might not use it frequently.
Waste diversion for fabrics - old clothes, pillows, comforters, etc
Organics should be combined with leafs and yard waste as is done in the city of Vancouver.
We are using the clothes/fabric drop box. Great initiative that I hope you keep. I have a 20 year stash of torn sheets that are now diverted from landfill.
Mostly waste collection is great with exception of green bin.I stopped using the green bins because if you filled it up, your driver would refuse to lift it and leave it. What should a homeowner do with a full maggot infested bin that was provided by the city to fill?
Offer compost bins to residents at a discounted rate to install at their own homes/backyards. Offer grants for new moms to purchase reusable diapers/reusable diaper service like Montreal and to women for reusable personal hygiene products.
I think if the City was able to turn its compost into soil for use in municipal garden beds as well as for purchase by the public, it would be a very neat example of a circular economy and potentially a revenue source. Not every resident has the ability to compost in their yard but their gardens would benefit from high-quality composted soil. This would encourage more residents who don't already, to start diverting their organic waste.
"Give away days
E waste collection
Metal collection
Would be willing to pay a yearly $100-$200 for any or all of these."
Clean household waste and items such as building materials and furniture once or twice a year.
Collection of large objects ( like furniture), also once or twice a year the collection of hazardous.
old unusable clothes/fabric
Have extra bag policy on every holiday weekend
Garbage bins in all park's.
There should be a Chemicals, Metals and Building Pickup once a year in the fall; avoiding these products into the garbage pickups.
Christmas tree pickup
I like the treasure hunt days. Build them predictably into the city calendar.
Pick up leaves more and keep garbage the same
More frequent yard waste removal would be helpful.
Christmas tree pick up
Christmas tree pickup in early January.
A 'free stuff' drop off location for re-use by others. Perhaps a membership fee to participate. I often take loads to waste drop-off and see many items that thrown away but we are not allowed to pick up. This past week there were two brand new bundles of insulation that had been tossed out.
E waste
More give-away Saturdays, items on the curb.
Electronics
Free or discounted dump days for larger items
Regular once a month battery collection
Twice yearly large item pickup at no additional cost, as in other jurisdictions.
circular economy initiatives
Once a year pick up of hazardous waste (can be limited)?
"Ewaste at curb
Who cleans the bins? Do they need liners? Can garbage bags still be used?"
"1.Clear guidance will be required on which disposal path is required for fruit 🍎 tree waste. Certain years, this can be weekly volume, currently not accepted through organic/green bin collection. Right now, fruit disposal is managed by weekly or biweekly drives to Lappans Lane. It’s not clear. Would we use the same bin for garbage one week and yard waste the next, alternating (season dependant)?
Textile recycling! Worn and damaged fabrics, clothes/shoes beyond salvage or donation, carpets/rugs.
More options for tech peripherals trash (cords), small electronics, and safety items that must be replaced by mandated ( by law) expiration dates ( smoke/CO detectors, car seats, helmets, etc…)
The Kingston chapter of Earth Hub just closed. There is an acute demand for people to divert as much as possible if the options are there. Hire people to fill the gaps left by overwhelmed/crushed volunteers trying to do the right thing.
Large item curbside pickup should be a priority. Ensure bags are used for garbage then placed in containers.
"I would like to see a few easy waste drop off stations installed so I don’t need to depend on waste pickup days whether weekly or biweekly. This would be in the event I’m not going to be around the scheduled day of pickup or I’d like to dispose of the waste early in my self collection process so it doesn’t need to hang around until the scheduled collection day.
For this process each tax bill could include 5 or so bag tags each year."
Keep the battery pick up, please.
Neighbourhood compost drop off locations could be incorporated to community gardens.
hazardous waste
Once a year large item pick up for free
Electronic specific or battery pickup?
Large item is the most important otherwise you have to pay expensive minimum dump fees or try and stockpile items to make it worth it. which is hard in small living areas.
"Monthly Place at your curb unwanted furniture and / or Free drop off days at a location that is accessible to others to pick up ( similar to end of year Queens site)
LESS salt and sand on secondary streets "
No, there are lots of collection sites around Kingston. (hazardous waste, electronics)
Reduce packaging in stores, ensure only products sold make use of easily recyclable materials. Update building codes for a ‘green future’ and that includes space to get all these different bins in/out of the garage with no chance of attracting pests.
"Toxic substances like oil and paints pick up
City arborists could drop off mulched byproduct at requested houses if its not used by the city somehow"
More yard waste collection days
I wish access to hazardous waste drop off was easier. I seem to miss the windows of opportunity.
Hazardous waste pick up would be convenient.Perhaps offer pick up 3-4 times per year.
Could the City consider having a once a year curbside pick up of hazardous materials for those that don't have access to a car as they walk or use public transit?
The current green bin is brilliant. Most weeks, after recycling and green bin use, our household only puts out one very small bag of garbage per week. Less than 5 pounds, and much smaller than a milk crate.
Weekly garbage and green bins but make them smaller not larger! No garbage pick up unless green bin is used?
Electronics waste disposal on the east side of the city such as the public works yard on highway 15.
"DIAPER PICK UP!!!
I have 2 children in diapers, and I’d say that bait 1/3 of my garbage pail is filled with diapers. Coming from Ottawa only 1 year ago, it was a completely shock to me that diaper pickup wasn’t offered in this city. "
As a family of 3 plus a dog, we do not get close to 180L can of garbage. Would love year round leaf pick up!!!!!
Junk collection once a year
E-waste diversion
Cat litter composting
special hazardous waste pickups on designated days
"Need better clarity on what is and what isn't recyclable. While I know this is not part of the City's job or this survey, I find the variability in what gets picked up and what doesn't frustrating.
Regarding green bins/carts... we have mixed success (and messaging) about whether or not we can include some modest amount of yard organics with our household organics. Being able to dispose of both each week is very convenient. "
Bring back Christmas tree disposal
Would be interested in the leaf pick up system used in Mississauga, where you rake the leaves to the road and the truck sucks them up. Although Kingston may be too windy for this model.
Maybe an easy way for hazardous waste to be picked up?
Green bin pick up for condo/apartment buildings
Allow plastic bags in the green bin. Pick up items like Christmas trees and hazardous waste like a real city. Look to Toronto for good ideas. Our current system of going to the KARC is extremely car centric and NOT appropriate of a city under a state of emergency due to climate change. Ensure users WITHOUT their own vehicles can dispose of their waste at no additional cost compared to vehicle owners.
Leaf waste should be allowed in green bins, as long as it fits. Larger green bins please!
The city should offer free metal pickup once or twice a year.
Brush and leaves should be picked up once a month
Perhaps electronics
Yard waste. We came from Waterloo region who had yard waste collection and found it very useful.
Per question 5. I said "No" based on current options for disposal of furniture, mattresses or appliances. For Example, Mattress Mart charges $14.00 for mattress disposal and unless it is a foam mattress, they recycle the metal from the existing mattress or box spring. There are plenty of independent metal collectors in Kingston and surrounding area that will collect old appliances.
Partnerships with not-for-profits to allow diversion of useful household goods and large items into their support systems. City could set up a reasonable payment as suggested in Q5 above and have item picked up by city, then delivered to the not-for-profit organization facility with pre-approval of acceptance facilitated online. Possible organizations might be Salvation Army or Habitat Restore.
Program to pick up materials from small construction projects. They could be recycled.
Incineration is a viable environmental option that is widely used in Europe. Why are we not considering this option?
Electronic waste collection
Basing waste allowed by household number versus flat amount for every house even if single resident vs house with newborns & diapers
More frequent battery disposal
Grass clippings
Mandatory clear garbage bags, pick up refused if they contain recyclable items
When in another city, there was twice a year junk pick up.
I think everyone should get a 240L garbage bin more room just in case and should do yard waste pick up ones a month
While I don't think we need bi-weekly brush/leaf pick up, an additional Spring pick up would be appreciated. My leaf pick up has been in December the past two years, and I was unable to take part as I cannot pre-bag the leaves without the bags getting wet and disintegrating at the curb, and then when my week came everything was soaking wet.
I can't think of anything right now. I do wish leaf pick up happened in spring as well, since that is when I rake most of my leaves.
Periodic hazardous waste pick-up.
Possibly hazardous waste .... small items i.e. unused paint in cans.
If possible, a few more battery-pickup days throughout the year would be good (thinking of the growing senior population who may not have a vehicle or access to a ride).
"Yard waste as composte. Grass clippings etc.
2 x Large Item collection days per year (Spring and Fall). Allow for residents to put out furniture, electronics, BBQs etc and have them collected by the city and disposed of."
Companies offering compost bins for employees. and city offering compost pick up for said companies
"Our biggest issues with garbage collection are the annoyance of bag tags and undersized recycling bins.
I like the idea of the carts vs bags. It would be nicer for us to put recycling in big clear bags rather than bins-maybe that will happen with upcoming changes. Also, big item pick ups would be really helpful. "
bimonthly battery pick up would be nice
Regular yard waste collection ie lawn clippings and garden clippings not just leaf and brush
"I appreciate and support the fabric recycling program trial.
Please continue the giveaway days. "
More effort put towards business (fast food) waste diversion. Also review large building/instituiton recycling efforts (ie CFB Kingston, Prisons, Apartment buildings). Just walk into any Tim Hortons or McDonalds and it is obvious they are just dumping everything in the trash. Not to pick on the companies, as it is the customers who also contribute to this.
A curb side pick up for aerosol cans similar to the annual battery collection.
Cost concerns
"Weekly garbage. Medium carts free, Small carts $100 annual credit, Large cart upgrade $200 annual fee. Singles/couples/retirees receive credit and encourages less waste production. Families will likely produce more than one bag, and this would be for a standard household. Currently at 135 litre, at least match that for free or more. (Please don’t reduce the size for families and make them pay more to bring them back to two bags) Large bins are for the excess trash producers, large households, those not recycling etc.
Keep the tag based garbage system for the events when needed.
Lower the automatic dump fee. In my last jurisdiction to drive large items, construction waste to the dump, it was by weight, with the minimum of $14, here when going to the dump it was $40. Lower to $15 so people can take their larger items, even one off mattresses or a coach without having to pay excess amounts. We are just regular joes who have a large item, shouldn’t be gouged at the dump for that, when trying to do the right thing. "
Encourage people not to put out their bins if they aren’t full, since stopping and accelerating the trucks are what consume the most fuel. So this would reduce both fuel costs and CO2 emission.
"When there a holiday and you get bump a day.keep it till next holiday.
The city is wasting 300,ooo.oo dollars a year.
Workers get paid for holiday then overtime on the satday"
Recognize a lot of families are combined due to raising costs. This means more garbage more recycling. The only city provided item currently large enough is the green bin.
Large item pick-up could be scheduled twice a year (spring and fall) instead without any extra cost as is done in many municipalities already.
The current system seems to work. Why increase costs?
There should be access to a way to dispose of a bag a garbage without charge. This will be particularly important if a bi-weekly collection is implemented, and people miss a scheduled collection day, as I foresee a rodent infestation problem developing due to uncollected garbage.
Keep the costs low and affordable for all.
Regular large item pickups are definitely needed. Such a pain to have two items and the only option is to pay $50 to the waste management place, or obviously some people just dump it in a park or somewhere. I think the idea of a $30 for one item and $10 for every other item will not solve the problem of illegal dumping. Still too expensive.
"Please don't increase the size of garbage bins - I already see recycling done poorly in our neighbourhood and I feel that allowing more garbage will divert more recyclable materials to landfills
Can the recycling and organic waste drop off location open on Sunday as well - weekdays are not an option and only one day a week can be tricky
Large pickup day is great. I have seen this work well in Oakville.
I love the ""give away days"" in Kingston - such a great idea.
Battery and lightbulb pick up days quarterly?
More options to get rid of old couches and mattresses - the flat rate fee is a bit steep in Kingston
This is a "big picture" option, but the waste drop-off stations (similar to molok bins) could be a better approach and save the city money. Take a look at Amsterdam's waste collection system. Each neighbourhood has a waste drop-off location that citizens can use at any time, and the city picks them up periodically.
More frequent yard waste pick-up would be ideal, but not at the cost of reduced garbage pick-up. Even once a month Spring-Fall would be great.
We’ve lived in a city with bi-weekly garbage collection and they offered 3 garbage bin sizes. The medium was no extra charge, large had an extra annual charge and small provided a credit.
Look at Oshawa for large item collection. Once a year you can have one free collection of 12 items. Extra collections are $35 per collection of up to 12 items. They collect and grind the items right there. Very good program. $30 per item as suggested is too much.
I'd be afraid to suggest anything. New idea=more money from citizen.
cost recovery recycling - alberta has a good model with encourages people to recycle and bring recycling to depot for $ back - this reduces the landfill since people are enticed to get compensated for all recycling.
Why are we doing this? Isn't this going to be very expensive to implement? Buying all new trucks and bins? Plus, $6 per bin extra is too high for a single family dwelling
"Being able to schedule pick-up of large items would be great but $30 sounds excessive. People will continue to dump. No way to provide this service for free?
How about having Hazardous Waste Days/Weekends at various locations throughout the city, throughout the year? Not everyone has a vehicle to get to the dump. (And why isn't the Hazardous Waste Depot open all year?!)"
Get rid of bag tags, just increase taxes to make the program better for families.
Leaf pick up should be in the spring and fall. The long line ups and wait time in the spring - LARGE carbon footprint. The cost quoted for large pick up items of $30 is way too high.
"It would be nice if we could do away with the alternating weeks for recycling pickup, but I suspect doing so would probably be cost prohibitive.
The only other thing I would like implemented, large item pickup, you've already munfeasibleentioned."
City taxpayers should not be paying for extra large items. Individuals should fund their own costs for getting rid of old mattresses, etc. I can just imagine the messes along streets if that kind of large item pickup was available! I shouldn't have to fund that on my taxes!
Large item pickup without a charge. I don't know of any other city in Ontario that fails to offer this basic service on a weekly basis.
Allow carts in the suburbs at a reduced cost, but keep bag and container pickup in the older parts of the city.
"A full user pay system for garbage based on cart size with an option for a smaller cart. Garbage pick up should be removed from the tax base and become 100% user pay to incentivize waste reduction.
A shift to a maximum of biweekly pickup, regardless of bin size. This could and should happen immediately across the City and doesn’t need to be tied to the roll out of the bin program.
Eliminate the “free” extra garbage bag after holidays. We don’t generate any extra garbage around holidays because of our waste reduction and diversion efforts. It is frustrating to be paying for other households extra waste on my tax bill. An extra garbage should be 100% user pay 100% of the time, no exceptions.
It is awesome that the City has yard disposal so available and free. I see a lot if big items dumped just north of me and I believe it is because it is too expensive for some people to get rid if old furniture and junk and having a program that is more accessible and less costly I feel is needed. A lot of people complain about the cost of getting rid of large items or heavy junk like lawnmowers.
Cheaper access to waste transfer stations for disposal of additional waste. The minimum tipping fee where I used to live was $10 for the first 100kg... The minimum charge of around $50 here is outrageous.
Every household receives one standard 120 Litre garbage cart free of charge collected bi-weekly. Cost to upgrade size.
Yard items such as occasional bricks and rocks. not sure what to do with this type of stuff. I like the large item idea but would need to make sense. perhaps a sliding scale. A outdoor plastic chair should not cost the same as a fridge.
Keep it low cost
This survey is a farce. Only a handful of options are offered. It offers little choice. Do I want coffee with cream, milk, or black? If I want tea, there is no option! Many residents in apartments see trucks trying to load bins, now, which are noisy and inefficient. Waste will begin to rot and stink on a two-week schedule. The fees suggested are a cash grab by greedy bureaucrats. City Staff have no real clues about re-cycling!
I would like to see a full pay per use system for garbage with no charge for organics and recycle. This might actually encourage residents to divert/reduce their waste going to landfill.
Further cost-effective programs to reduce the amount of waste making it's way to landfills (i.e., re-use and recycling of used products).
Offer compost bins to residents at a discounted rate to install at their own homes/backyards. Offer grants for new moms to purchase reusable diapers/reusable diaper service like Montreal and to women for reusable personal hygiene products.
Some option to dispose of small quantities of misc construction waste Eg. a few pieces of scrap wood, 2x4s, plywood, etc. Need to bring to dump now with a min flat cost of $50.
Please keep the bag tags or implement to the user pay flat rate disposal. Please do not add extra costs to taxes at the expense of low volume generators such as seniors.
We do require another option for large items rather than having to deliver to the local waste area and spend $50+ dollars. Many large items require us to pay someone to come take it away which is even more costly.
Twice yearly large item pickup at no additional cost, as in other jurisdictions.
Once a year large item pick up for free
Very interested in more yard waste pick up at no extra cost
I regularly see garbage dumped at the roadside on McAdoo lane and in park garbage cans - I would like to see an option for residents to take extra waste to a facility for a nominal cost. Example is Durham Region - cost $5 for first 40kg and $1 for each 8kg beyond. Current private waste company options in Kingston are ridiculously expensive.
Storage concerns
I like the idea of cart based pick up biweekly. If the cart is of the larger type then I can store my full bags in the cart away from animals.
Weight limit should be gone when they use the new bins I would believe. Sometimes my garbage cans have dirty cat litter and it weighs down the bag. ??
Student houses would likely require the larger size garbage cart. Most residential houses would likely use the 120 L size.
Allow carts in the suburbs at a reduced cost, but keep bag and container pickup in the older parts of the city.
NOTE: Where are people going to store these bins. We have a grey box (or two) and a blue box (or two) which I also often only put out once a month, now as a Senior I will be expected to find space for TWO MORE LARGE CONTAINERS - one for garbage and one for organics? Then there is the issue of place these containers "correctly" at the curb and hope that no idiot comes along and turns your container backward to the curb for the fun of it? Has any one given thought to that issue? Thanks for reading.
Please find a way to make waste collection more accessible for those who live downtown. Where will these be stored for downtown apartments? As it stands now the recycling program is not suited for the downtown apartments. If others throw trash in your recycling bin you guys fail to pick it up. The current green bin program does not work for units in apartment buildings without trash rooms as there is nowhere to store the bins. Will this be an issue for the new program?
I am concerned about the size of these bins as I have limited space to store this.
Question: Do you have any other comments about the transition to a cart-based collection system?
Diversion concerns
Regular yard waste pickup would cut down on some residents dumping their plant/yard waste in green spaces, which happens all too frequently.
I like the cart-based system, but have 6 children and while we do our best to recycle and compost, we still exceed 1 1/2 bags on a weekly basis.
It is not clear HOW the carts work - do small garbage bags go in them as well as loose trash or does everything need to be bagged to reduce mess during pick up (thinking of windy days where loose recycling tends to get loose)?
I am happy. I feel that moving to bi-weekly garbage pick up might encourage more people to use the organic waste to decrease the amount of stinky garbage is sitting around.
Every house hold has different needs and or # of people in that household- , apartment buildings etc,. for my personal needs I very rarely have a full bag- 120L max for me but you are going to charge all of us the same amount . You make households manatory to recycle but business with the most garbage it is not mandatory. Commercial businesses- ie restaurants please make it mandatory for them to use these bins. So much loose garbage downtown on garbage days
I think having bigger bins will discourage people from recycling. Whatever choices are decided, I hope priority is put on waste diversion, even over public opinion.
We were part of the trial process and used a cart-based collection system in Guelph for years before we moved to Kingston and think it's a good system as it eliminates bag use. We also had a 240L grey bin that held all recyclables and was picked up bi-weekly. This had it's drawbacks as it required hand sorting in a city facility. I like placing the onus on sorting on each household and like the bin system here. Also, while I lived in Guelph I worked at an elementary school and we managed to establish a system of cart-based pickup for paper, plastic/cans and compost. Students collected the waste and enforced the sorting on their lunch hours. We also brought in waste sorting in carts, through the city, for events like Wellington County Special Olympics. Carts can make a big difference to expanding proper sorting of waste.
I hope it does not lead to larger garbage bins / more garbage disposal from residents.
Carts for recyclables, garbage and organics should all be sized to accommodate the arms of the new garbage trucks like other regions have.
"About time! The nearby GTA city (Brampton) I previously lived in allowed us to choose from small, medium or large garbage and recycling bins along with a standard compost bin. I think they alternated weeks between garbage and mixed recycling ,but did weekly compost. I like weekly garbage collection since it helps prevent the number of rodents from becoming an increasing problem!! People aren't always good at minimizing food waste and we've had issues with mice and rats around our property. Unfortunately, some of
my neighbors never use the recycing or compost bins. So, please do not stop weekly garbage collection!!!"
"All of the foregoing seems to encourage more and more garbage. Aren't we supposed to be reusing/repairing/diverting from landfill????
When I see at least 2 big black garbage bags every week from student houses, I get very pessimistic about what our youngsters are throwing away. Does anyone (City Staff) examine what ""garbage"" is in those bags?"
My biggest concern is an increase in waste produced. Offering larger bins seems an opportunity for people to produce more waste.
Great idea to help clean up our city. Kingston is too windy for open collections boxes, i hate seeing trash all over our beautiful city and residential areas
I think we need to encourage, even advertise, how to avoid making garbage and to stop littering, especially when we are so near so many bodies of water. I now put out my garbage twice a year-one bag each time. If I can do it, so can everyone else.
"Generate a plan which offers pick up or drop off of old style garbage cans, whether plastic eg. Rubbermaid, or metal.
Anticipating less garden waste will go in the organic bin, decreasing the size of the p/u container?
What’s going to happens to the organic processing company if organic waste decreases
I really hope that the cart system supports loose garbage vs expecting garbage to be in plastic bags and then placed in the cart.
I question the need for the medium cart..240 L if people recycle as guided."
"What will happen to the enormous number of plastic containers that will no longer be needed? There will be a huge amount of plastic waste.
Also, are the new bins made of recycled materials? This will be an incredible amount of additional plastic that will be added to our environment."
Need to boost the cost of "garbage" pick up to make people think twice about where they put their stuff for pick up. Most of what we produce is compost which we mostly put in our yard composted. Almost anything can be composted and manufacturers will soon have incentives to reduce their packaging.
A 120 litre bin is far in excess of what I need. My weekly garbage usually goes in a grocery bag or in a good week of waste diversion, a cereal bag.
I am sad to see that instead of encouraging people to waste less and recycle more, this will encourage more garbage. Also, in the historical area especially, these garbage bins will be a sore sight. And their early-morning collection is very noisy. We often live in semi-detached houses therefore have no place for these unsightly plastic horrors. My husband and I don't fill one bag of garbage per month. Please teach people to put out less garbage by charging $5. per bag starting with the first bag. This is 2024...
When we went to the green bin waste system it was initially using mechanical methods of pick-up. which led to damaged containers that required replacing. This is likely going to happen with all containers due to extreme temperature changes which will lead to further costs to follow the program. is this a wise investment in our future? will there ways of community clean ups so that garbage can be taken away as well?
My hope is that the new system would not increase the amount of local garbage going to the landfill.
We don't need as big of a cart for food waste disposal, pick the smallest size.
If it helps divert landfill in any way that will be good
Hopefully home owners will be able to select the size of cart needed for their collection and have the option of obtaining a bigger cart if requirements change with no fee attached to it to exchange or obtain a bigger cart
Will this help the environment of just allow the garbage collectors too avoid physical work? Will humans someday become so weak due to lack of exercise that we can't get out of bed? What will you do with all the currently used, personally owned, garbage cans we use now? Will you have them picked up or will people toss them out along back roads to get rid of them? Will you have a recycling program for the old cans? Or is this transition just going to harm the environment more? Nothing should be done to change the current system unless the environment gets a net benefit.
Make sure there is a plan in place to help us dispose of our existing garbage containers. Thanks!
Keep the garbage waste bins as small as possible. Large bins will encourage more waste.
How about thinking about other ways of simply reducing the amount of garbage that needs disposing. We presently have a hard time filling a 120l garbage can once per week, and often put it out bi-weekly only. Hopefully others can also reduce the overall need for collection
Get rid of the green bin limit. I have to put a lot of organic waste in the garbage because I produce more than the weight limit most weeks. If you want people to divert waste, don't make it so hard.
What will people do with their old waste bins? This program which may save time money and backs will create a lot of unused garbage bins that will end up in land fills.
Good idea, saves lots of black garbage bags from getting to landfills.
I like the idea of paying based on the size of bin and moving to bi-weekly collection as a way to encourage more use of green bin and recycling. Large item pick up on a user fee basis would also be great.
Not sure I really like the idea, as it seems that it will increase the number of bags people can put out for "free". I also feel like it could be really challenging for people with different abilities like myself. I walk with a cane. I'm concerned about elderly folks or people with physical limitations.
We are a 4-person household and don't generate much garbage. It would be good to cross-reference how people respond with how large their household is. I would hate for larger households or, for example, households with multiple children in diapers, to have to conform to the same standards of garbage creation as we do.
I would like the collection of ALL recyclables to be automated however, not just garbage and organics. I realize that this is a huge capital investment but the payoff is equally huge and well overdue. Please do it right the first time - people will adjust!"
I am disappointed that if I choose the bi-weekly option in question 1, I lose the option to choose the smaller garbage cart. With the possibility of rats and other animals, we do not want to store garbage or green bin outside and our garage space is limited. With recycling and green bin waste diversion, our household rarely fills a regular garbage bag in a week and often put out garbage on bi-weekly already. I do not remember the last time we had to buy a tag.
I would like to see an exchange program for any old garbage bins that homeowners have that will no longer be acceptable. So, if homes have to pay a fee for a new bin it is waived or reduced by trading in their old bins for recycling.
"Too many options and variations to choose which is best.
-I like the larger container,...but if I had to go with the 120 L,...how would we be compensated for the 15L we loose under the new containers???
-Question 5. How would students be charged for the large item pickup??? This is a BIG issue for residents living in the neighbourhood because they leave a tremendous mess, (particularly at school end) that degrades the neighbourhood.
This would be a good method to keep the large items from being strewn about the Queens area! BUT, how would the city charge for items that could end up simply being ""passed around"" from house to house and no one takes responsibility for the cost of pickup! Students would LOVE to avoid this cost, so they would pass it on!
-I like the idea of large item pickup, Ottawa had this free of charge large item pickup for years, (maybe about to loose it)
-I am sure all those aged Boomers prefer a smaller 120L container,....Sorry, that WILL NOT WORK in the University district!
Way too much garbage they require larger containers. If you don't provide larger 240 L containers (or 120Lx2) here we will be covered in garbage!!!! 360L would be better but a bear to move in winter; 360L is a non-starter. (Commercial size,...better to have several smaller than something too big to handle or maneuver between buildings!
-How are these going to be put out?? at the edge of the sidewalk is nice,....but it snows here and the plows pile the snow high and I can see this as a jousting match between them and putting a 360L out to the road!
-Whoa there!,...Question 3,...Just what do you mean ""pay between $100 to $200 per year to increase the above cart capacities"" ?? What? from 120 to 240L or 240 to 360??. We already loose that 15L we have now going to the 120L
-How would the bins be issued? When they become damaged (squirrels CHEW!) how do we get replacements? If they get stolen how do we get replacements? Minimal cost I expect!! or direct exchange.
-Parts??
-Will there be a way to identify what bins apply to what residence, especially if there is more than one? (Identified by writing address on the outside?)
-This might be a city wide initiative, but the University District is a different beast!! You MUST account for the excesses here,...I pick up WAY TOO much garbage off the street in my attempt to make our city look respectful. They must be accommodated to a reasonable extent. After all they are this city's bread and butter!!"
I would sincerely hope that all the green bins in the city could somehow be used for something else, or recycled into something useful. I hate the idea of all that going into the landfill once they’re replaced by the new bins.
I live in a building with multiple units right next to a convenience store. There are cars parked out front every day (tenants and/or store customers). Right now, all the households put out their garbage in front of their own units, and the garbage collector has to go in between parked cars to pick up each container. I worry that garbage would get left behind for at least one (if not all) of the tenants because the arm on the truck could not get to the cans with cars parked in the way. There is no driveway where we could place the bins.
We use bag tags each week. There needs to be some sort of option for additional waste disposal beyond the 120L capacity if the city chooses to go that route. If we are only provided 1x 120L container, how do we dispose of the rest of our garbage on a regular basis?
How are other municipalities in similar climate conditions rate the effectiveness of this process. We seem to be experiencing a increasing amount of garbage just dumped on the side of the road/park/public property and eventually the city has to pick up the garbage. Will this new system help fix this growing problem or make it worse. It is thought if you make the collection of garbage easier and more reasonable that the problem of discarded garbage might be lessened?
" Downtown areas with narrow streets and high density residential areas will result in significant congestion along the streets and sidewalks with larger carts.
Placement of carts in winter is already difficult; larger carts will be extremely difficult with uncleared snow banks, compounding the congestion noted above for downtown areas.
This system appears to be encouraging increased garbage disposal instead of enhancing waste diversion rates with its generally larger capacity options.
""Recycling collection will be the responsibility of recycling producers"" is not entirely true; these producers must work in coordination with recycling processors, which in turn will be in coordination with municipal blue box programs. This cannot be relied upon exclusive of regular municipal waste pickup programs for continued success in increased waste diversion rates. To ensure active participation and efficiency for any waste collection program, these factors must be considered in conjunction with others like this transition to a cart based system. Therefore, it is my strong belief this aspect must be scoped into this exercise. "
With two kids in diapers I would like to see the option to tag the occasional bag. Sometimes the piles of diapers plus regular garbage means we need an extra bag. Love the option of occasionally using a bag tag, maybe 6 times a year.
"Firstly, I do think it's a good idea.
I'm a little concerned about the size of the 240L bin. I think it simply encourages people to throw out more garbage instead of separating their waste into recycling and green bin containers. I think it would be best to have just the smaller 120 L size (even that one sounds excessive to me).
I'm also a little concerned about the costs that seem to be associated with this program. They seem quite high and it hasn't even begun. How will the fees be collected? Taxes? (Only 52% of city residents are homeowners. Will they foot the bill for the entire city?) Will each household get a bill in the mail? How will the garbage collectors know if the bill has been paid? And who pays? What if you're renting... is it the renter or the homeowner who pays? What about apartment buildings? Will there be new ByLaws to help direct how these new bins should be placed for collection? and what about winter time? The sidewalk ploughs already knock down our existing garbage cans and green bins. Bigger bins could be a hazzard to ploughs, and could create some significant messes.
And importantly!!!! what about our recycling program?
Just some thoughts... "
The city has gone to great efforts to reduce waste and increase recycling in the city. Offering a much larger bin may lead to a set back in the overall goal.
"I'm concerned about a potential cost of having to buy new bins if ours are the wrong size or buy a bin for those who don't have them.
Also, biweekly garbage would encourage people to produce more garbage. Some cities only do garbage every two weeks and recycling and green bin every week to help encourage people to sort their garbage properly and that seems to make sense/help.
The $30/large item is super expensive."
"Other cities provide a 75 litre bin option for garbage. I still think that is too big, but at least it is more aligned to the equivalent of 1 standard garbage bag. The City of Toronto provides a 75l bin, so I don’t understand why that “industry standard” bin is not an option being considered in Kingston. We are a family of 5 and only need a bin that is the equivalent about 5 litres or less, even if garbage is picked up bi-weekly. At this point, we intend to get rid of the bin provided by the City and just share 1 bin amongst friends and neighbours.
I would like to see the current City Council revisit and reconfirm the City’s waste diversion target and understand how moving to a cart based system impacts the waste diversion target. Everything about the cart based system I have read or received answers to seems to be contrary to reducing waste and increasing diversion targets. It’s going to be a free for all when it comes to garbage disposal.
The survey suggests an option for year round leaf and brush pickup? Why would we need leaf and brush pickup from December to April?"
We stopped participating in the green bin compost program. We have a large garden and vegetable garden. When I weeded, I would put these items in the compost bin. The people collecting waste refused to collect our green bin. We have very little kitchen waste, but it I put an egg shell on top of the stuff in the green bin, it would be taken. We got tired and honestly, for the cost of gas and running to drop off a small bag of compostable yard waste we started to just put it in our regular garbage. Training of staff on what is acceptable and what is not has to made clear, as well as to both rate payers and renters. Waste collection is the biggest complaint we have about the City of Kingston. It is not user friendly and requires a lot of driving to locations that are not easily accessed by public transportation, or hours of operation make it impossible to use (e.g. open only during working hours). The waste program must work for the users, if Kingston is going to become more green.
Recycling one week, garbage collected the other week. Green bin collected weekly. Promote green bin and recycling. Costs for garbage beyond standard 120 litre size each household has.
"The down side of this is that it does not limit the amount of garbage going to the dump if it is weekly pick up. It does nothing to encourage recycling & green box.
I think it is a great cost savings specially if you go to bi-weekly pick up."
Wouldn't it be great if there were periodic curbside metal waste or electronic waste collections, with the money raised being used for specific initiatives in the city that either support our priorities (climate efforts), or support key needs in the city (food banks, shelters)? I would gladly support that. I also think it would incentivize it for citizens to know that they are doing something good for the city.
We have lived in 3 cities with cart based and green waste pickup. It is easier for the elderly or those with disabilities to roll a cart with wheels than to carry bags or garbage bins. With green waste and blue waste bins far more is diverted from a garbage steam than otherwise. With large waste and yard waste pick up the cities look cleaner and it reduces fire and tic risk.
"All of the options seem related to a 120l bin every week or a 240l bin every 2 weeks, with a yard waste in the intervening weeks. I rarely put out a 120l green bag in adjacent weeks, and frequently put out a bag every third week. While I am apparently not the norm in Kingston, this is due to attention to details with reducing waste and diverting everything possible to recycling. This means that I CANNOT effectively comment on these proposals without considering the recycling processes that form part of a complete system. The current bi-weekly blue/grey boxes work really well. If the new system is not as effective and easy, waste will increase.
Please consider surveys and input based upon a complete waste disposal system approach."
I don't see why we need year round brush and leaf collection (the bi-weekly option). Are people going to use it Jan - Mar in the snow and frozen ground? People can plan ahead as they currently do now. You could revisit what spring and fall weeks you choose based on previous data on heavier pick up weeks but like.....what about renters? This would be useless for them. And then they'd have bi-weekly pickup which I think would exasperate the garbage situation in the university district too.
I welcome it. Hopefully the carts will not require garbage bags and will reduce the amount of plastics going into landfills. But please, keep garbage and green bin pick up as a weekly occurrence, especially during summer months
"This seems to be a good option for those who live on a short driveway and can deposit their cart at the curb. For those who live off the beaten track and have to transport their waste to a collection point and do not have a truck or the capability to lift or to move a filled cart any distance, what is the option?
If recycling is being removed from the jurisdiction of the municipality, what is the incentive to reduce waste with the alternative cart sizes offered?
For those with many trees, which help mitigate climate change, a spring as well as a fall brush collection would be very helpful. There is more debris to clear in spring than in fall."
"It sounds as though you're suggesting that a fee increase for everyone is possible if residents vote for larger containers? We should be encouraging people to reduce their waste! And households that put much effort into waste diversion (e.g. who produce perhaps 1 bag every month or two for a family of four), could easily feel penalized. Larger containers and frequent removal is moving the City in the wrong direction.
Bi-weekly yard waste would be convenient but unnecessary: Quarterly or seasonal pickup (4x year) sounds more reasonable?
I love the idea of access to a large item pickup for people who aren't capable of taking items away themselves. (And then homes with more waste have the option to pay for extra pick-ups.)
Thanks!"
In my Woodhaven neighbourhood I notice many people choose not to use green bins and/or recycle bins. These homes normally have 2 garbage bags every week. If they want to continue in this manner, I do not want to be penalized. I have a two person household and have 1/3 to 1/2 of a black garbage bag of waste each week, with active use of recycling and green bin.
I pay $20 per week or $80 @ month to dispose of our waste footprint based on bag tags. This because of our large family. Doing one cat per house is not feasible with 6 member family in a single dwelling. If there is no alternative for larger family's of more then the standard 2.5 family accommodation for waste. We will have to find other means to get rid of our waste which may be not be so legitimate.
240 biweekly is a large container allowing for bigger items that usually wouldn't have been allowed in our current system. I believe this could lead to greater amount of waste going into our municipal stream.
1. Residents need to remove and store them from the street unless it is a pickup day. 2. Program renders my current trash can useless. How would these be disposed?
Smaller carts might encourage more recycling and waste diversion.
I would like to see the option for much smaller carts for garbage (we certainly don’t need a bin that large for even a month’s worth of garbage from our household of 5 people) and would prefer not to have to devote storage space to multiple large bins for garbage, organics and recycling. I think this system will be a huge step backwards from the waste diversion goals that the city has been working towards.
This is one of the most poorly designed surveys I have ever encountered. Implicit in your questions, and in this move to a cart-based waste pickup system more broadly, is the assumption that residents do not want to see increased waste diversion. If we were serious about waste diversion, we would reduce the frequency of garbage pickups AS WELL AS the size of our garbage containers. Why would we want any household to be sending 3-4 bags of garbage to the landfill every week or two weeks? This is unacceptable in a climate crisis.
Additionally, how many waste collectors will lose their jobs in the move to this system? How is this a positive outcome? Having humans transfer waste into these trucks also ensures that residents are not abusing the waste collection system, by sending excessive amounts of garbage to the landfill.
I am, frankly, outraged that the city is planning to make this change, and the results from this survey (as well as the staff member(s) who created it) need to be seriously questioned.
I pay ~$4500 for city taxes, we dont have any kids and have a relatively small house we only have about 40L of waste per week. lots of people rent there houses out in GWP and I see residences pushing the extreme limits of 120L of garbage not to mention the huge amounts of recycled waste. Hopefully the city takes this in consideration. Heavy users should pay more if required and not pass this cost on to every one.
What measure are in place or will be in place to ensure success of this system? How will these measures be implemented? For what reason is this system being considered? If it's a question of the waste being too heavy for manual lifting then what diversion programs has the city considered to reduce the volume of waste per household?
I don't want or need one of these large carts at my house. We produce one very small bag of garbage per week. The current system is ideal. Having larger bins at every residence will only encourage more garbage production. The City of Kingston has worked so hard to reduce waste through a 1 bag limit, and a weight limit. This will do the opposite.
Bigger bins are only going to enable citizens to produce landfill waste more freely. This should not be encouraged but rather rethinking why so much waste is/was being produced by one household in the first place and what are ways to address the route cause to have long-term waste reduction.
My only fear is that there will be an increase in the amount of garbage put out on pickup day. Our current disposal is less than a small grocery bag. We reuse, recycle and compost all organic matter in our backyard tumbler. Our green bin is used for bones and garden matter which cannot be composted easily. Otherwise, we take our brush to the Kingston waste disposal site.
Great idea keeping the 120L containers will make people recycle more.
All biodegradable products, regardless of type should be permitted weekly ie Food, Grass, leaf, and plants. My experience is my household never fills current box with food waste. Caveat is the box must close. Overflowing should be penalized by ticketing for the excess fees.
I am curious as to why the rates for extra bag tags in the new system being contemplated have taken a huge jump in prices to citizens. Is it because the city will be losing revenue in future when private corps take over recycling service? I also feel that charging significant fees to pick up large items will result in those items being dumped indiscriminately along rural roads in the city. Why is it not fair for Kingston to pick up large items for free as other municipalities I have lived in do? We pay significantly higher taxes in Kingston than other cities I have lived in and surely one of the services provided could be to keep our city beautiful by picking up large items. I have seen upholstered furniture sitting on the side of the roads for weeks and months as owners put them out there hoping someone will want them. Charge another 10 dollars a year to every homeowner on our tax bill if necessary to provide this service.
Please define what you mean when you specify bi-weekly; it can mean twice a week or twice every two weeks. Unless this term is defined, this survey is useless, any data collected is worthless since you can't know which term people think you're using. The City should be encouraging people to put out *less* garbage (see question 2), not offering any option that makes it easy for people to put out more garbage. Please clarify question 3, as worded now it's confusing. Less garbage, less recycling, less waste. Please work to ensure people put out less waste, not more. Please do not make it any easier for people throw stuff out. Please make it easier for people to acquire less waste - encourage retailers to eliminate plastic packaging, one-serving or one-item packaging, and encourage them to use biodegradable packaging.
If the city makes it too difficult, complicated or too expensive to get rid of waste, people will find ways to dispose of garbage on their own, for free, but likely illegally, by dumping garbage bags or whatever waste they have in the nature: in ditches, in the water, out in the woods. This creates a whole new pollution problem that is likely far worst then Waste-to-Energy facilities.
"We are in an era of trying to cut down on the use of plastics. WHERE ARE THE NO LONGER USED GARBAGE BINS TO GO WHEN TGIS NEW SYSTEM COMES IINTO EFFECT the new system encourages Not DISCOURAGES recycling. This new system is to save the city money not benefit the planet…."
No matter the program organic's need to be collected every week. I is also difficult to answer this survey when we don't know what the collection of recyclable will be like once the private section takes responsibility. Depending on their rules more people may put more in the garbage over recycling, this could increase your volumes.
There was no option in Q2 to affirm selection of a 120L cart (1-2 bags). This would still be a preferred size, even for biweekly, for low volume disposal families (seniors, for example). I would be concerned about changes to the system that assume those of us who practice a low weekly waste (garbage) footprint might be forced to accept bin sizes driven by the “higher volume waste crowd” who don’t recycle, don’t opt in for organic, and might be happy to see a red tag programme disappear so excess waste is not tracked and charged at cost. If one goal is diversion, we shouldn’t be encouraging ways/means (bins) that provide conscience-free higher capacity volume disposal to those not helping to divert.
If you can find a way to help post secondary students dispose of their garbage using an app that would help to reduce the garbage left behind in the front yard and also them trying to dispose of it by adding it to their neighbours pile so they don't have to pay. Currently, getting bag tags it difficult if you do not have a vehicle and don't care to go out of your way to.
Adding larger garbage cans encourages people to NOT divert waste into composting systems. I am not sure larger cans are the solution. Less frequent garbage collection with the current size can will show a commitment to the climate crisis which I believe the city declared.
It's going to create more garbage not less.
Our household is diligent about separating recycling and appropriate use of both green bin waste and backyard compost bins. As a result, our household garbage bag is one 20 litre bag weekly or less. I do not want to reduce the frequency of garbage collection because KINGSTON HAS A RAT PROBLEM, but I also find it really difficult to relate to households who are selecting the larger container size options or who have ever used the extra bag/tag programs. Further public education about sustainable consumer choices and the responsibility to reduce waste and reuse items, donate what can be donated, etc would be a worthwhile endeavour.
Weekly collection is necessary for garbage collection due to accumulation of diapers from little ones.
"A 240L bin would really help as often 2 or 3 bags don't fit into my current 120L bin.
It is excellent that machinery will now do the lifting.
PLEASE CAN THIS MEAN THAT THE WEIGHT LIMIT OF THE BINS (I believe around 44 lbs currently) IS INCREASED?
This would really help us as kids diapers are very heavy and we quickly get to the maximum in a week on weight, although often the 120L volume is workable.
As you can imagine, if you don't have tags and last minute you have a bunch of diapers to dispose of that put you over the weight limit, the stinky diapers have to wait for another whole week! "
Concerns: More city debt. Extraordinary costs to buy and maintain the fleet. Will it be electric in 5 years and then we must buy another one. Property owners will realize no benefit on their taxes and the environmental benefit is hard to assess. Will waste diversion be more difficult to gauge in large carts? Last but not least-Loss of more good jobs in the community. Thanks
People need to be accountable for waste diversion. We need to focus on not filling landfills.
The grey box and blue box curb side pickup needs to follow the same automated pickup. To minimize the amount of bins that a home owner has to manage, having one recycling bin (that takes both grey and blue), one black and one green would be the best option for the taxpayer.
"How much would the garbage cans cost and what would happen if animals ripped holes in them? Would they be replaced?
If you had an extra bag if the cans remain 120L, would those be collected outside of the garbage can with a tag?"
Do you know how many new ""condos"" have gone up lately that don't have an on site superintendent or even a common room? The city allowed the building of those units on Development drive, they don't have a common garbage room so all the units have their garbage bags and recycling bins sitting on their porches which are extremely close to the street because the city decided to allow them to be built so close to the street despite this being a residential area. It's an unsanitary eye sore walking or driving past those units, and seeing those little porches full of garbage bags and recycling bins and now you want to add even more bins to the clutter??? This is disturbing because I know that these types of units are being built all over Kingston.
Also the green bins are extremely awkward and cumbersome to move around, they are top heavy so when you try to drag them to the curb when there is any snow or ice or to be honest even a strong wind, they start falling over as you are dragging them and it's very easy to sprain your wrist. We have a large elderly population who are going to be affected by these bins, and don't say oh you can push them on the wheels, doesn't work, most times you have to drag it. And now the city wants to change our garbage collection over to the same design? I'm not happy about that, the carts aren't safe, especially the smaller design that the city is thinking of. And that smaller design may say it holds 120L but I don't buy it, it's also narrow which means that anything that is wide or oversized that could be put in a bag now can't be put in this bin, so we're stuck holding onto it.
And the recycling program needs to be worked on, so much of it gets blown around on collection day and is just left in the streets afterwards causing litter, having plastics only picked up every 2 weeks means that the boxes are full and easy for the wind to blow the items on top away which happens so often and adding more boxes to our households is crazy, where are we supposed to keep storing all these carts and boxes???
Alternate garbage pick up bi-weekly with recyclable/organics bi-weekly.
"I would suggest that the default cart be 120 L to de-incentivize people from producing more waste. The size of the container will bias people towards the amount of waste they produce, so it is better to anchor their expectations lower than higher.
You could additionally allow people to pay for larger bins, but in that case you should emphasize that the small bins are the normal size. People will be inclined to follow the norm and opt for the smaller cart size by default.
In any case, please at least provide an option for the 120 L cart. I live in a one bedroom apartment and do not produce much waste. It already feels silly using the large green bins for my one or two bags of compost per week."
I think it's a great idea. I walk 6 km everyday to my job, and the mess that I see left behind by the garbage collectors/wind is awful - our streets are a horrible mess from garbage 'collection'. People using bins (which is helpful as raccoons make a bag on the side of the street a real mess) are tossed carelessly by workers with bins and lids flung every which way and I often retreat them as they'll get blown into traffic. I think the new system will keep our streets cleaner. But going every 2 weeks would make for horrid smells; it's bad enough on a weekly system for the smells and maggots. Students don't keep the system too tidy either with recycling boxes overflowing, and rejected/wrong items getting tossed aside by sidewalks. I'm all for change in the system!
Great idea seeing as 1 garbage bag most week in my area for small or large families is hard to achieve. And I see a lot of illegal dumping in new construction areas.
Cost concerns
I wouldn’t mind biweekly collections without adding more yard waste collections, hopefully reducing overall costs.
this puts a great strain on handicapped and low income people...garbage rates should be LOWERED or at the very least remain at the same rate...we also will have the expense of buying, maintaining, and FINDING storage space for those special carts...there is no need to change the system which has been working for years....you don't repair what is not broken
I do not want to have to buy a garbage can for this Service. The City should provide them at no cost.
The cost should not ever fall on Kingstonians. If the city is changing the system then the city should pay for the costs. Carts should be provided free of charge and labelled properly by the city for each address. When carts are stolen, damaged or go missing it should not be the responsibility of the taxpayer to purchase a new cart. The garbage/recycling collectors should also be properly replacing the carts where they will not be damaged by oncoming traffic, as is the case so often seen with the current box collection system. Also, if ever there are carts left uncollected for whatever reason then it should be the responsibility of the waste collector to provide the resident with an accurate reason for any uncollected items.
The implementation of this program is a waste of taxpayers hard earned money. Use our money to fix the dreadful city roads! Put our money to good use!
Garbage collection is built into our taxes. Another survey needs to be done if there is a chance households are going to be on the hook for even more costs because the way the questions are written here, it's unclear and it seems fishy, right from the start.
City should fund this from the existing budget. Taxes are already too high for a majority of the population.
Unsure if it is the best option for a small city. It is increasing costs, and will not make the service faster as the driver will need to adjust the cart during winter and ramps. Also, many employees will lose their jobs. Again, it is a small city.
"We have a large family. Will there be a cost for the 240 L garbage cart?
As someone who needs to be able only use a cart can this is definitely a step in the right direction. Thank you"
"The smaller garbage cans are the same size as the green bin I have today. They are too skinny to hold 1 1/2 garbage bags of the size that you are allowed to have today. This would actually lose capacity. Raising the price of bag tags to 6$ a bag from 2 would be absurd. That should only be allowed if you ha e gone over the large can requirement not on top of a smaller can. People are struggling financially as it is and this city is already has the most strict garbage rules of anywhere I have lived. The expectation that people pay a couple of hundred dollars a year on the chance that they may need extra bags or 30$ for 1-5 bags is absurdly high.
I would hope that no costs are incurred when switch occurs. Savings would be realized in wages (one person versus 2), move to biweekly garbage pickup and efficiency of process.
"Are these carts automatically issued free of charge?
Would residents receive a free replacement if they get damaged?"
Some weeks we have a bag, occasionally have 2 or more bags but not often. How would the user fee be determined? I would opt to the bigger container, just to have if needed.
In Winnipeg we had both large bins for garbage and recycling. The recycling bin was picked up weekly and was usually full. I think the municipalities need to look at the creation of a recycling sorting facility like in Winnipeg. Costs should be shared among several cities (Trenton to Cornwall for example). This would simplify recycling for people which then makes it easier to want to recycle.
Concerned about size of carts and as we use very little garbage disposal (one small bag each week) we are not interested in extra surcharges as we pay enough taxes already
Live in condo townhouse, nobody uses green bins now. We do not have storage for garbage bins, and believe no bins can be stored in front of units. Who wants to lug a bin through their house to the street for garbage. I also believe we pay additional fees for garbage now and personally think this is a dumb idea and certainlydoes not take into account residences without garages.
My household does not produce enough waste to fill a garbage can. We do not have a space for a garbage can of this size in my small townhouse/yard. I do not want to have to use a garbage can. My household does not have a driveway to the curb, therefore a garbage cart or can would have to be carried from indoors, out the steps, and to the curb. This is not acceptable for me or my many elderly neighbours. I do not want this new system, nor do I want to pay taxes towards its implementation.
I'm glad to hear that this transition is taking place. It will hopefully help mitigate the problem of critters getting into garbage bags and cans at the curb and making a mess that is not always properly cleaned up afterwards. I also hope that this does not cause undue price and/or tax increases and related costs with regards to the new carts.
With mechanical collection, carts will get damaged and abused. The responsibly of replacing and delived to residents home should be city of Kingston.
We already pay taxes and garbage collection should be part of that!
If carts need to be replacement due to breakage and need to be replaced. Will additional costs for residents be added to our taxes or upfront cost?
YOU never take into consideration seniors & people with disabilities !!! How are we able to put these lrg bins out to curb and where do we store them especially during the winter mths ! Not to mention the cost of these bins we barely live on our fixed income some not even able ( not to mention the increase property tax!! ) we have less two - one small kitchen bag (s) put out bi weekly Everything is going up in cost EXCEPT our pensions For once take care of your seniors WE took care of you when we were your age & our seniors
no If the city is saving money re union staffing then hopefully these savings will be passed on to residents
Need to boost the cost of "garbage" pick up to make people think twice about where they put their stuff for pick up. Most of what we produce is compost which we mostly put in our yard composted. Almost anything can be composted and manufacturers will soon have incentives to reduce their packaging.
Great idea if it does not cost more. We are retired on a very low income now. We do everything we can to conserve, recycle and help with pickups making it easier for the drivers. Had great service and our regular contract person is great but others not so much. They throw the recycling bins anywhere some with. Stuff still in it. Ours generally don’t have anything in them when thrown back nut neighbours do and garbage is left flying all over.
"Seniors and disabled would have difficulty taking the bins to the curbside as opposed to a bag.
Garbage disposal is already part of our taxes we should not have these increased to pay for the new carts and trucks ."
"When we went to the green bin waste system it was initially using mechanical methods of pick-up. which led to damaged containers that required replacing. This is likely going to happen with all containers due to extreme temperature changes which will lead to further costs to follow the program. is this a wise investment in our future? will there ways of community clean ups so that garbage can be taken away as well?
How much will the carts cost residents?
I'm curious if the cart system and trucks to use, if the initial costs will be offset by lower future labour costs....if not, why are we moving forward with this program, just for the sake of?? I'm not sure the union would be happy to see it's membership reduced by this initiative and if the idea is to keep the same number of workers while investing in this new machinery, I think it's money better spent in a lot of other priorities...
Hopefully cans will be provided for free
I usually have one large bag. Prefer to pay as I go for any additional bags I might have.
Allow the 240 L pick up weekly - anything above that you can charge extra for but this should cover most households. Feels like you are nickel and diming when you start charging extra for normal garbage disposal.
Hopefully home owners will be able to select the size of cart needed for their collection and have the option of obtaining a bigger cart if requirements change with no fee attached to it to exchange or obtain a bigger cart
Do what they do in most US States. Large 240 L bins, one for garbage, one for recycling. This should not cost extra, as should be part of our taxes.
Garbage pick up is part off the reason we pay taxes, the restrictions should be minimal as to preventing dumping and any additional cost should not be dumped on the property owners of this city.
I think money could be better spent elsewhere such as improving places where people walk and cycle. The city has a good thing going with its current waste collection program. Given the financial strains that the city is under, why are we changing to a cart-based system? What is the city going to do about the noise from these vehicles? Where are they going to go in areas where there is little space? i.e. downtown where the sidewalks are very narrow. This definitely affects accessibility because those with strollers and walkers will not be able to use the sidewalk.
Yes. When the operators or vehicles throw the carts on the ground and they break, who will be responsible for paying for them. The current garbage / recycle collectors are not very kind to garbage bins/boxes. The cart-based system is widely used in California and it seems to work week so I'm looking forward to it as long as it doesn't impact my current fees and I don't have to pay for a new bin if it is wrecked by the City of Kingston employees.
NO cost to the house holder, the city will save money on labour etc etc
are there fees for replacement of damaged carts?
I do not understand Question 3. Would this be a fee-based program to pay a fee of $100-200 for the larger cart-based bin by each individual household or would the $100-200 fee be incorporated into property taxes and everyone would pay it? If it is the former, I am supportive of a fee-based program paid by individual households who want to purchase a larger bin and if it is the latter, I am not supportive of a fee levied on everyone through property taxes for the increased size bin.
"I feel Winter will be a very large challenge, specifically snowbanks... bins impeding roadways, taking up potential parking spots, plows clearing the road knocking these bins like pins in a bowling alley... Will the city absorb the cost of these new bins? What about damage claims, garbage debris from city plow hitting/breaking these bins open... Will the city have staff to come and pick up the garbage...
I assume this is a cost cutting measure and may result in job loss so I sincerely hope that there will be no additional charges or rate increases to already overburdened rate payers.
In all likelihood this is simply change for the sake of change and nothing will really be accomplished, just bureaucracy in motion. Is there a cost saving to the taxpayer through job eliminations or will those employees just be re-deployed elsewhere?
I am concerned that this transition will reduce the number of jobs available in waste collection. I am not opposed to the idea of a more automated system, but I would ask that you consider the workers whose lives may be affected. And as always, please remember that the job of any level of government is not to make money, but to serve its residents. Saving money is all well and good so long as those savings are being reinvested in the city.
I think it is a good idea if it decreases our operational and capital costs overall.
"you are asking questions on a program you have already decided to go ahead with. What is the cost to the tax payers ? Is this survey to decide the rate of pickup, and type of service ?
"We have some concerns about this cart-based system re:
Will measures be in place to prevent spilling of garbage onto streets when tipping it into the truck?
These containers should be small enough so that elderly people are still able to maneuver them to the curb.
How will these trucks be able to maneuver for pickups on those streets where multiple cars are parked on the street? There will have to be strict parking regulations on pickup days, with no parking allowed on the street.
4) Will these trucks be able to work effectively during winter months where there is excessive snow and ice on streets, as well as some streets that remain unplowed after a storm? Many side streets are in poor condition for a few days following inclement weather during the winter.
5) Since little public consultation ( I.e. asking people in neighborhoods) has been done prior to this decision being made, every effort should be made to minimize the costs of this implementation to homeowners. Many people are struggling financially right now, and increasing waste disposal costs with this new method of pickup is not acceptable, considering the level of taxes we pay currently.
Since the City of Kingston is increasing our property taxes, garbage/recycling/compost collection should be included in the fees collected for property taxes, and the City of Kingston should provide the largest collection containers (i.e. 240L) possible. I believe that we are paying high property taxes in the City of Kingston compared with other comparable-sized cities across Canada. Garbage collection should be provided - that's what we pay property taxes for!
Make it Free for Kingston residents.
Pick the garbage up weekly & the brush/grass once/month. We are a student town 8 months/year and unfortunately students couldn't give two craps about garbage rules. They can barely following laws. We need to control the rat population, if not we will soon be like NYC. To mitigate the costs, you could get rid of 1/2 the ineffective homeless projects you have going.
This will likely be a very costly program to implement.
I think for many residents, cost is an important factor so please consider options that do not increase costs for the taxpayer
Not in favor of cart based collection system .....I think it is an expensive system to transition to.....garbage bins would be ungainly to transport to the road side for pickup in the winter ....especially for seniors.
What cost increases are involved in introducing this system, both in terms of direct costs to the home owner and tax increases to the property taxes?
Who will pay for the new bins? Who is responsible if they get smashed (my green bin was smashed last week and will not close out lock anymore).
I like the idea of paying based on the size of bin and moving to bi-weekly collection as a way to encourage more use of green bin and recycling. Large item pick up on a user fee basis would also be great.
In Question 5, is everyone charged an annual fee to support the service in case you wish to use the program or is it fee for service only. (i.e., you don’t use it, you don’t pay). Question needs to be clarified.
Considering that the City agreed to adopt this new system why does the homeowner have to pay for the new cart? I'm not aware that I was given an opportunity to give my opinion on this new system (yes, I did fill out the garbage questionnaire 1 or 2 years ago.) If it's your new system why am I on the hook for a new receptacle?
No new costs or tax increases is preferred.
Please don’t move to a booking system. It will become an entirely additional administrative task for families that is uncessary. Leverage existing taxes and pickup without changing process.
I assume that the new carts will be provided free of charge, and hope that if these expensive carts are damaged by the collection process the City will offer a replacement at no/low cost.
there is no indication of why the city is going in this direction. what problem is it addressing? is it saving or increasing costs to the city or residents? in our househole, we generate very little 'garbage' these days. most of our disposal is recycling and composting. we try to keep garbage to a minimum. the city should not be encouraging residents to add waste but to recycle. given my comments above, i would like to see the option of a smaller container for 'garbage' for households.
waste of money
"Changing the garbage collection system, shouldn't cost any more than the current program.
There should be NO COST for the bins, as this would be forced upon us, they need to be provided free."
Please make the system easy to use. Large item pick up, christmas trees and regular yard waste collection are desperately needed. I’d rather pay more in taxes to have ease of use.
What is the cost of the cart to the household?
This entire program should be part and parcel of the property taxes that we paid to the City Of Kingston. There should be absolutely no extra charges. I have noticed that I need about twice as much space for recyclables as I do for garbage.
We don’t have access to City water, Sewer, nor natural gas or even high speed internet. While I do see the benefits of this upgrade, to see any additional fees as a result of this plan would be disheartening to say the least.
Keep the taxes down. If something is working and saving jobs, keep it. I think we pay enough property tax to cover these basic services. This should be a priority.
Where I live is right in a high crime area with a lot of homeless people just steps away from my house. I have been the victim of my green organic bin being taken twice this year alone. What is stopping them from continuing to take possibly the new cart if I’m at work all day? And is the city going to realize it’s out of my control and replace my cart at no charge to me?
It seems like a huge waste of money for something that doesn't provide the residents any improved service....I doubt many residents are willing to pay more for garbage pick up than we already do....Kingstons property taxes are already expensive, in fact more than I paid in Toronto where I recieved double the service.
Toronto has a good garbage pick up system. Households can chose the size of their bin. Based on the size, your city tax bill reflects this each year. It`s a good system because it responds to different needs. Also, if we go with a fall leaf & yard waste pick up, it would be nice to have a few spring collection dates as well. Even once a month during the summer months.
Should cost the same or less depending on the amount of employees required to operate these new cart trucks.
I support the new program as long as there is no increased cost. I do not see a need for change if there is a cost increase. In the current economy there are so many increased cost that if one more can be avoided then we need to rethink rather than add more financial demands on the populace.
"Question 2: My household would take 2 months to fill a 120-L cart and such a cart would occupy needed storage space in my garage. I would be reluctant to pay for anything larger than a 30-L cart
Question 5 is confusing - how large is ""large"" and s the cost $30 for the first item and $40 for any additional items?"
"Too many options and variations to choose which is best.
-I like the larger container,...but if I had to go with the 120 L,...how would we be compensated for the 15L we loose under the new containers???
-Question 5. How would students be charged for the large item pickup??? This is a BIG issue for residents living in the neighbourhood because they leave a tremendous mess, (particularly at school end) that degrades the neighbourhood.
This would be a good method to keep the large items from being strewn about the Queens area! BUT, how would the city charge for items that could end up simply being ""passed around"" from house to house and no one takes responsibility for the cost of pickup! Students would LOVE to avoid this cost, so they would pass it on!
-I like the idea of large item pickup, Ottawa had this free of charge large item pickup for years, (maybe about to loose it)
-I am sure all those aged Boomers prefer a smaller 120L container,....Sorry, that WILL NOT WORK in the University district!
Way too much garbage they require larger containers. If you don't provide larger 240 L containers (or 120Lx2) here we will be covered in garbage!!!! 360L would be better but a bear to move in winter; 360L is a non-starter. (Commercial size,...better to have several smaller than something too big to handle or maneuver between buildings!
-How are these going to be put out?? at the edge of the sidewalk is nice,....but it snows here and the plows pile the snow high and I can see this as a jousting match between them and putting a 360L out to the road!
-Whoa there!,...Question 3,...Just what do you mean ""pay between $100 to $200 per year to increase the above cart capacities"" ?? What? from 120 to 240L or 240 to 360??. We already loose that 15L we have now going to the 120L
-How would the bins be issued? When they become damaged (squirrels CHEW!) how do we get replacements? If they get stolen how do we get replacements? Minimal cost I expect!! or direct exchange.
-Parts??
-Will there be a way to identify what bins apply to what residence, especially if there is more than one? (Identified by writing address on the outside?)
-This might be a city wide initiative, but the University District is a different beast!! You MUST account for the excesses here,...I pick up WAY TOO much garbage off the street in my attempt to make our city look respectful. They must be accommodated to a reasonable extent. After all they are this city's bread and butter!!"
Running a system on a weekly basis must incur a greater amount of costs for minimum amount of benefit. I support the system, I just can't get behind the idea of running a weekly pickup with an automated garbage disposal program
I don’t like the idea of this new system. Definitely don’t want any extra costs to garbage pick-up. That would make a lot of people upset for sure.
Would it be possible/feasible to look into charging for consumption based on weight instead of # of bags? I know that weight is used at pretty much every other point in the waste disposal step, and that it's not really possible with manual collection, but presumably with the mechanized trucks you would be able to weigh the cart as it's being picked up."
Simply adding to the cost of living. No thanks.
This imposed program WILL just kill job and is completely unacceptable. How is some who can't handle these type of bin suppose to get their garbage out! Where are people supposed to keep these large bins? And how are low income people going to afford this increase.
It should not cause any increase in cost. In fact, if this doesn’t save money, it shouldn’t be implemented.
I think it is extremely important that cost is kept as low as possible and that maximum quantities of garbage are enforced. Must continue to reduce waste.
cost comparison to the way things are done now?
"Firstly, I do think it's a good idea.
I'm a little concerned about the size of the 240L bin. I think it simply encourages people to throw out more garbage instead of separating their waste into recycling and green bin containers. I think it would be best to have just the smaller 120 L size (even that one sounds excessive to me).
I'm also a little concerned about the costs that seem to be associated with this program. They seem quite high and it hasn't even begun. How will the fees be collected? Taxes? (Only 52% of city residents are homeowners. Will they foot the bill for the entire city?) Will each household get a bill in the mail? How will the garbage collectors know if the bill has been paid? And who pays? What if you're renting... is it the renter or the homeowner who pays? What about apartment buildings? Will there be new ByLaws to help direct how these new bins should be placed for collection? and what about winter time? The sidewalk ploughs already knock down our existing garbage cans and green bins. Bigger bins could be a hazzard to ploughs, and could create some significant messes.
And importantly!!!! what about our recycling program?
Just some thoughts... "
"I'm concerned about a potential cost of having to buy new bins if ours are the wrong size or buy a bin for those who don't have them.
Also, biweekly garbage would encourage people to produce more garbage. Some cities only do garbage every two weeks and recycling and green bin every week to help encourage people to sort their garbage properly and that seems to make sense/help.
The $30/large item is super expensive."
This is stupid - just charging Kingstonians more for your inflated budgets and rising salaries to counsellors. Kingston's property taxes are outrageous as they are. Use the money you're already taking more wisely!
"The carts should be small for seniors and large gor larger families / carts should be provided for free
Ecisting green bins should be kept / no need to upgrade these : one less employee per truck should translate into savings ! Where will these savings be earmarked? "
"Having to pre-book pickup of extra bags is understandable (though definitely inconvenient compared to now), but knowing 5 business days in advance is too much: for Monday collection days (and holiday weeks), that means knowing two calendar weeks (because two weekends) earlier! One full day (eg: 24 hours) would be a more reasonable target. I hope you can make a very easy way to book this and large item pickup.
Large item pickup is nice, but it doesn't need to be offered weekly, it would be reasonable to offer to each zone once every 3 or 4 weeks, especially if that can allow the cost to go down."
"As a family with young children, it is difficult not to produce over a bag of garbage per week. We have a lot of diapers, etc. As is, we already feel that the collection system is biased against young, large families whom tend to produce more waste. We often have to pay for a second bag.
A biweekly collection would have a large negative affect on us. Moreover, calling in every week for an extra pick up of a bag of garbage (for 30$) seems unreasonable. We also would not want to ""store"" extra garbage bags containing diapers, etc until it is cost effective to dispose of them.
We hope the city decides to use the larger 240L bins, and implement a weekly pick up, as this would accomodate our family's needs. "
"Niagara Region offers large item pick ups for free, this is a better option. Items put out to the curb are often picked up by others who can reuse the items. $30 flat fee makes no sense, same cost for a book shelf and a couch?
I would use a cart based system, however, I am concerned for people who use bags currently and don't have the space for a garbage can / cart. Not everyone has a garage or shed, and the city of Kingston has a bylaw preventing garbage / recycling on front porches. How will we accommodate people in this position?
Also, I stopped using the green bin system as the bins kept cracking due to waste collector abuse, and it was a pain to get them replaced. How will the city implement replacement garbage carts? If the city wants to use this system, the city should pay for the carts, and make replacement easier, especially if they're investing in carts which aren't durable, like the green bins. Perhaps collectors could keep a few carts on the truck and when they see a cart which needs to be retired, they could swap them out."
"I do not want to pay anymore for garbage pickup since it is included in my taxes.
What happens if I have two bags? It is rare for this to happen; but, I would like to know the implications."
"Don't even proceed with this program unless you intend to reduce overhead by eliminating jobs.
City taxes, budgets and employee retirement pensions are out of control....and are the single biggest threat to the economic survival of municipalities in this country."
Recycling one week, garbage collected the other week. Green bin collected weekly. Promote green bin and recycling. Costs for garbage beyond standard 120 litre size each household has.
Ensure carts are emptied properly and completely. Carts broken by collector need to be replaced by collector at their cost. During winter collector needs to ensure content in carts can be emptied completely if frozen.
"The down side of this is that it does not limit the amount of garbage going to the dump if it is weekly pick up. It does nothing to encourage recycling & green box.
I think it is a great cost savings specially if you go to bi-weekly pick up."
No extra cost
There should be no additional compulsory costs associated with any garbage pick-up initiatives. We already pay for the service through our property taxes
How much does this absurd refit cost Kingston residents? Do you even care how many people struggle to eat, make rent and stay warm? Stop pretending you have given us choices with your agenda, and stop wasting our money on your woke ideology
There should not be any additional charges to the cart based system for the tax payer. Use the medium sized buns every other week. This offsets the cost of the bins. Also, I do like the addition of leaf/garden collection, but do not feel it needs to be every other week. Surely once a month would be sufficient.
Keep the tags as a supplement to the bins. We need to use a tag for an extra bag just a few times a year. A flat fee of $30 as proposed for extra collection is way too much. I don't see what the big deal would be about keeping the tags - they are cheap and easy to use.
"the survey does not indicate that the current bag tag system will be maintained and if so, at what cost
sometimes the household does not recognize how much waste there is until the materials are brought to the curb prior to collection date
your consideration of large item pick up is very important but categories by size or weight could be developed and charged appropriately
please ensure that carts have wheels that are capable on snow and or gravel driveways"
There should absolutely not be an annual fee....what doI pay taxes for! Certainly not the roads in our area
Although I would not use the large item pick up I think it would be a fantastic idea for students, elderly, people without vehicles large enough to transfer large items to the waste disposal sites. Your suggested fee seems appropriate.
I would like to know how many jobs are taken away from actual people in Kingston when this cart-based collection is implemented. I would also like to know the cost of one of these trucks that will be put on the taxpayers and the number of trucks the city is buying. Can I expect an answer to these questions from someone with the city?
There should be no cost t9 residents for new collection container. If they aren’t durable who is responsible to replace??
Keep it low cost
We are comfortable with the current system. So, we hope that this new system will save the city some cost.
What are you basing your cart sizes on.? Many folks only put out (like us seniors) a garbage bag once a month so even the smaller container for garbage will sit around for a few more weeks till full. As a Senior, your idea of prices for LARGE ITEMS IS RATHER EXTREME. i can call Got Junk and pay for a bin - and they will give me one price likely cheaper than your individual item prices. As well they offer to recycle what they can or donate to charities in need. Also as a senior I only put out my green bin maybe twice a month. Thanks for reading.
This is nothing but a waste of money with absolutely no consideration for the residents of Kingston. Automated garbage collection? It is a fool's dream. People pile their garbage up on weekends. Homeless idiots dump bins and scatter garbage. By-law enforcement does nothing but write up notices that are ignored. The machinery will break down or simply not do its work. GET REAL. Fix the poor jobs, and fire the fools who are operating the garbage collection now and propose spending more money on wasteful nonsense!
"I think it will be more costly than what we have and potentially put people out of work.
In addition, I would expect the additional ""equipment"" failures will mean that a certain percentage of the time (2-5%) there is no pick up, or late pickups.
I also think it creates more garbage as I have so little garbage, that I don't use a can, only my kitchen garbage bag which is about a third the size of a normal green garbage bag. So now we have all of these carts being introduced and in a few years, replaced, damaged, etc. Not to mention that homeowners now have another cart they will have to store. It creates an eyesore for neighbourhoods without adequate indoor storage for the carts, where we have a street of carts.
Neither of these two things are really desirable. I have been very happy with the collection thus far, having been a resident for 18 years."
"The alternative for 240L at the same cost by bi-weekly was not asked. This might work and allow residents to put large items in the bins if need be.
Also, how the carts will be collected when large snow windrows are on the streets remains an open question that has not bee addressed. Not all residents can drive out of their driveway and park on the street to then put the carts in an open area."
What are the cost of the bins? Who is paying for the bins? What happens if the collector breaks our bin -- will it be replaced at no charge? I don't think that weekly or biweekly pickup of branches and leaves is necessary. Perhaps one spring, one summer and one fall pickup would suffice. Thank you!
I pay ~$4500 for city taxes, we dont have any kids and have a relatively small house we only have about 40L of waste per week. lots of people rent there houses out in GWP and I see residences pushing the extreme limits of 120L of garbage not to mention the huge amounts of recycled waste. Hopefully the city takes this in consideration. Heavy users should pay more if required and not pass this cost on to every one.
"I appreciate your attempts to make improvements but these changing practices need to avoid further straining residential households financially. The property taxes in this city are at an all time high with little city improvements that serve the greater good and well being of it's residents and justify this current property tax scale. This cart based program is just another example of that. This needs better consideration based on the city you serve. It's size, demographics, actual lot layouts, etc. No doubt there are far more efficient and practical programs being utilized elsewhere.
Thank you for the opportunity to take this survey. "
It would be helpful for the city to provide information on the financial implications of transitioning to the cart-based system. Will there be an overall increase in costs, to purchase carts, increased costs to be covered by property taxes, or otherwise?
I would like the transition done within the tax budget and not have added costs due to this transition. If it cannot be done without adding costs, then I would prefer to keep the collection system as is.
Does cart based collection reduce the city's labour cost if it becomes an automated system? If so why would there be additional costs/taxes for increasing frequency of pick up or larger collection bins? I understand initial capital costs but longer term there would be savings
We purchase a garbage tag once or twice a year at $2.00. Paying a flat rate of $30.00 would not be cost effective for our household. I would still want an occasional $2.00 a bag.
Remember that seniors need to be able to handle them in all sorts of weather. Do NOT choose the large one for that reason. People can buy two if they want, but I can't manage a huge one and I am only 64. Maybe allow big families a choice of sizes or allow people to register for an additional container for an extra cost. Why should I pay for garbage capacity that I don't use? People who put out more garbage should pay more.
"Why exactly, are we changing the current system, besides the myriad back injuries? Would having fewer employees or an expensive new system make an impact except on our wallets. It used to be that garbage collection was what our taxes paid for. Now, there will be an additional cost for the bin, but possibly less garbage collection as well??
"If this transition will displace workers, thus saving money, why would the tax payers be charged a cost for this new service?
Going to be expensive to provide a bunch of garbage bins
We have 4 adults and 2 children in the house 1 bag of garbage isn’t enough I pay too much in taxes for the prices you are proposing
I am curious as to why the rates for extra bag tags in the new system being contemplated have taken a huge jump in prices to citizens. Is it because the city will be losing revenue in future when private corps take over recycling service? I also feel that charging significant fees to pick up large items will result in those items being dumped indiscriminately along rural roads in the city. Why is it not fair for Kingston to pick up large items for free as other municipalities I have lived in do? We pay significantly higher taxes in Kingston than other cities I have lived in and surely one of the services provided could be to keep our city beautiful by picking up large items. I have seen upholstered furniture sitting on the side of the roads for weeks and months as owners put them out there hoping someone will want them. Charge another 10 dollars a year to every homeowner on our tax bill if necessary to provide this service.
I don’t think single people who barely make any garbage should be charged more or the same as large families.
We are happy with the way things are now. People shouldn’t lose their jobs because of this. The cost to implement this program is outrageous.
I would be willing to pay 100 a year to increase the cart capacity as it is close to what I would pay for a bag tag. It should not cost more than what a typical household would pay for bag tags in any given month for the increase, definitely NOT 200.00.
I think the basic ‘small weekly collection’ program should continue to be free to residents (over and above taxes), and anything more should have charges attached to them.
"There was no option in Q2 to affirm selection of a 120L cart (1-2 bags). This would still be a preferred size, even for biweekly, for low volume disposal families (seniors, for example). I would be concerned about changes to the system that assume those of us who practice a low weekly waste (garbage) footprint might be forced to accept bin sizes driven by the “higher volume waste crowd” who don’t recycle, don’t opt in for organic, and might be happy to see a red tag programme disappear so excess waste is not tracked and charged at cost. If one goal is diversion, we shouldn’t be encouraging ways/means (bins) that provide conscience-free higher capacity volume disposal to those not helping to divert.
"Keep the bins at 120L and if people want to use a 2nd bin, you should be able buy tags for it like the current tag system.
You should have to buy your first bin, and city should replace broken bins free."
Uncertain that this prgm will include recycling of containers- ie-cans/bottles etc......recycling being left up to the recyclers to manage does NOT confirm they will indeed do it!! AND IF THEY DO will this cause an extra charge to the home owner?? Seems a major part of what we personally recycle falls into this category & another additional charge would not be welcomed.
I'm not keen on seeing these changes, just more increases to the cost of living and it's already overbearing and making living a relatively decent life almost impossible.
We don't need extra cost
I like the idea of large item pick-up at a cost. However, I think that some may be reluctant to pay $30 for the first and then $10 for the next item. Some German cities provide this service but there the cost is based on the total volume of the items (4 cubic meters no higher than 1.5 meters) and not by individual piece. You also need to book this in advance. There is the regular service and an express service which costs more and pick up will be within 2 days. Last time I did this it cost 28Euro (around $40 depending on the exchange rate) is called Sperrmüll and we got rid of a lot of stuff too large for their regular garbage.
I think it's a great idea if the households don't have to pay, but I like weekly garbage disposal as it helps keep rodents away.
Concerns: More city debt. Extraordinary costs to buy and maintain the fleet. Will it be electric in 5 years and then we must buy another one. Property owners will realize no benefit on their taxes and the environmental benefit is hard to assess. Will waste diversion be more difficult to gauge in large carts? Last but not least-Loss of more good jobs in the community. Thanks
"Will we be using garbage bags in the garbage containers? How precise/controlled is the dumping of both the waste and the organic waste containers?I’m concerned about waste from both ending up on the street or being caught in the wind and blowing around.
Will the containers be provided free of charge?"
Program should not result in increase of fees and property tax!
I prefer not to pay extra for any other servies
I do not wish to see this new program implemented. Especially if there will be an extra added cost. These plastic bins will be broken consistently. If the trucks are new with these new arms they will be constantly breaking down which will lead to no garbage pick up. Bi-weekly pick up of garbage is not exceptable. Especially in the summer.
It seems like a way to reduce low end jobs. Is there a cost saving ?
"How much would the garbage cans cost and what would happen if animals ripped holes in them? Would they be replaced?
If you had an extra bag if the cans remain 120L, would those be collected outside of the garbage can with a tag?"
This system seems costly and loss of flexibility of unexpected extra garbage bags.
If the city wishes to move to a cart-based system, it should be at no cost to citizens, ever. The taxes in Kingston are already high and should cover this program without issue. The job losses will already be an issue.
"Allow for smaller carts (120L) for biweekly service (1-2 bag) capacity.
Would be more than sufficient for this household."
No charge to residents for the cart.
Just a cash grab waste of money to raise our taxes AGAIN!!!
"I would say no but, I am basically disabled, this cart is going to be outside the house all week, it had best be easily moved. When placed at the end of the driveway it will be put back at that spot. I am not sure of the size of the bin as, I have a wife with incontinence, the weight varies week to week, so far there has been no trouble. As mentioned, I have no idea about the size that I would need, I do not mind the extra $2.00 for an extra bag every now and then as needed. The next point is, how much is this going to cost me, if you wish to change to a cart pickup then you are responsible for the initial cost, the garbage fee on the taxes will have to be altered to cover the change with out extra cost to the people. I know this seems like a good savings but, consider wisely, it is not really a big deal to me but, it may be to you in the long run.
My thoughts."
I support the general direction. Please consider another option to have 240L bins picked up every 2 weeks and use the $$ savings to establish a drop off facility (or a contract with a local provider) for residents to take excess and large item garbage at nominal cost. Refer to Durham Region program for an example.
Some houses have bigger families and produce more garbage. And we pay more taxes for all that we use including property tax.
A waste of taxpayer money
I hope this does not increase our taxes nor mean a loss of jobs for current employees.
"This is the first time I hear of this initiative. Often, the information that comes out of the waste facilities (like tours of the transfer station, even!) arrive when it's already too late to factor it into a person's schedule. You are already at phase three of this project and this is the first that I hear of it.
It is not clear to me whether this automated system will replace real people, and therefore cause a loss of jobs. If there are people willing to do the jobs, I disagree with automation. (And PS: Automation always costs more than what is first projected, just sayin'.)
I survive on a pension which at best provides subsistence living (even this would not be possible had I not already accumulated wealth during my working years.) I get roughly $20,000 a year of income on my pension. Subtract $2500 for taxes, $1200 for home insurance $1000 for car insurance, $2200 for utilities and what is left to pay everything else with? Often, people who are in their working years assume that everyone can continually afford more and more. The taxes on my modest house already are high for a person on a pension. They should cover the public expenses without requiring additional outlay from the citizens."
Garbage removal should be included in our yearly taxes to eliminate any kind of extra steps & costs for citizens. Life is already stressful and expensive. It would be really nice to be able to just put garbage out and have no worries or extra steps and costs to worry about. Charge a flat rate for weekly garbage and big item pick ups, add it to our taxes to break up costs and reduce people having to pile items in their garage or yard for a dump run.
Who is paying for the new garbage containers
I don’t want to make weekly payments to get garbage picked up. I already pay property tax! Raise taxes if you have to but keep in mind, everybody is struggling with the cost of living now!
Storage concerns
Need WEEKLY garbage collection especially in the summer months as the smell would be horrendous if left for 2 weeks without collection.
this puts a great strain on handicapped and low income people...garbage rates should be LOWERED or at the very least remain at the same rate...we also will have the expense of buying, maintaining, and FINDING storage space for those special carts...there is no need to change the system which has been working for years....you don't repair what is not broken
Main concern would be the size of the containers as I have a small single car garage and my neighbourhood doesn't like garbage cans left outside. I am not capable of dragging the containers into my backyard either.
Hopefully the bins will be more robust than the current green bins are. Storage of these bins is a concern for me and one reason that I prefer the smaller option.
One concern I have is about how we can indicate that our carts have to be picked up from the back of our home where we back onto a dead-end street. We do not have lawns in our front. We have a pollinator garden so there is no place to put the carts.
Has reducing pick ups in the winter when odour will be less of a problem to biweekly been considered."
Does everyone have to have the same sized cart? A small family may need / want a small cart. I may be unable to lift a large cart (and I will need to lift them on and off my porch as I live downtown and have no where else to store them) so would prefer two small carts. Others may have no where to store a cart. How will you build in flexibility to work for all? How will you work out what happens when carts get stolen -- because while it sounds gross, they WILL get stolen. :)
"Will there be bylaws about where on the property the bins need to be stored?
Some cities have rules about similar-style carts being beside the house and behind fences or privacy walls.
Additionally, when it gets really cold my green bin has been smashed when dropped or thrown by the collection people. How will these bins stand up to the fold weather and what will be the replacement process if they get damaged? Not everyone has a car or vehicle large enough to bring a cart to Lappins Lane. "
"Please don't go to bi-weekly garbage or compost collection as in the summer it will stink and draw pests.
Currently, we don't use the organic cart during the winter. We keep it out back and can't roll it through the house. The only other alternative is to keep the carts out front next to the front door, which technically is on city property and wouldn't look great. So if the garbage was collected in carts as well, we'll I guess we wouldn't put anything out until spring.
What about spacing in the winter? Will the units be placed on the road? What if the wind knocks it over in storms? The garbage would not be picked up? What if I park in my garage and the unit won't fit in my garage?
My concern is about the frequency of collection changing to bi-weekly. The rat population in Kingston has increased significantly over the past couple of years. Some residents are spending hundreds of dollars a month hiring pest control companies who all ask the same question: Where do you keep your garbage and recycling? They all confirm this is a citywide problem and the ONLY thing that can be done is to eliminate the food source. If garbage is not picked up weekly, this will become even more unmanageable. Some people have described this as a growing public health concern.
We generate very little garbage, and even with bi-weekly pickup only need a 120L cart, that would be easier for us to store. In our view this option should be available to those who request it.
The size of the cart will be an issue for many downtown residents who have limited space for storage. No garages, no back yards etc.
"If my organics bin is any indication, carts will be susceptible to raccoons/squirrels, so forward thinking on lid security would be welcome.
I hope that future residential planning also takes into account access and storage for carts, and that the city is taking the lead on proactively requiring builders to include space on their property for the bins with easy access for them to get to the street. I would also like to see the city create funding for homeowners to adapt existing properties to better house and move the carts to the curb."
I have a very small house and small garage in the original downtown area, so I do not want gigantic bins. I would have no place to keep bins larger than the regular garbage can I have now, that I only need to put out every third week. I would prefer the compost bin to stay the same size as the one I have now as well as the blue and gray bins. I think these gigantic bins we'll make the downtown look like the garbage dump as houses are close together and small and people will have no place to store these other than their front porches etc.
Live in condo townhouse, nobody uses green bins now. We do not have storage for garbage bins, and believe no bins can be stored in front of units. Who wants to lug a bin through their house to the street for garbage. I also believe we pay additional fees for garbage now and personally think this is a dumb idea and certainlydoes not take into account residences without garages.
We live in an 80 unit condo complex with 40 units on the inside. The inside unit has a parking lot and garbage is placed in 2 areas of the parking lot. There is no room to place 40 carts for garbage pick up. We would suggest that city staff take a look at the parking lot.
My household does not produce enough waste to fill a garbage can. We do not have a space for a garbage can of this size in my small townhouse/yard. I do not want to have to use a garbage can. My household does not have a driveway to the curb, therefore a garbage cart or can would have to be carried from indoors, out the steps, and to the curb. This is not acceptable for me or my many elderly neighbours. I do not want this new system, nor do I want to pay taxes towards its implementation.
120 litre garbage container is FAR TOO LARGE. We fill current recycling bins but only put out one tiny garbage bag a week. We have no place to keep a 120 litre garbage cart
Option for a smaller (75L) cart?
Please consider offering the 120L cart, even for biweekly collection. We have a household of 5 and could likely get by with that capacity - smaller households could certainly make it work. It would give older people the option of a more manageable-sized cart, and would decrease the amount of storage space needed.
Not clear whether blue and grey box programs will still be in place. If there are still going to be 3 separate boxes, carts every week, we do not have enough room in our tiny garage to hold them.
Can there not be a 120 litre cart option? These current options seen quite large
Growing up in Europe I am very familiar with the cart based system. I think it is a great idea - I would like to mention a review of bylaws where garbage bins are currently not allowed in front of the house. Not all Kingston homes. Carts maybe more difficult to store on the side or backs of homes.
"have limited room in garage for bulky containers
given rising summer temperatures very concerned of odour if go to biweekly pickup"
I'm concerned about decreased frequency of garbage collection, as well as the smell that will likely be associated with the cart-based system
"Storage and handling of bins may be a significant problem for many households compared to bags. The small 120L bin will be awkward enough but if the choice is the medium (or large?) bin, this would be much more difficult. I hope the small bin is the reasonable choice. Thank you.
Incidentally, we have one of the newer small compost bins . . . . much easier to store/handle and never full except in plant waste clean up season. We spread the amount over two or three weeks when that happens. "
YOU never take into consideration seniors & people with disabilities !!! How are we able to put these lrg bins out to curb and where do we store them especially during the winter mths ! Not to mention the cost of these bins we barely live on our fixed income some not even able ( not to mention the increase property tax!! ) we have less two - one small kitchen bag (s) put out bi weekly Everything is going up in cost EXCEPT our pensions For once take care of your seniors WE took care of you when we were your age & our seniors
Another Cart ( already have composting ) could create a storage problem for some residents, so the smaller the better. Visibility of carts between collections need to be addressed with a by-law. I do not want to see these things continually stored in front of buildings. My experience with the composting cart is that it is too big - never more than 20% filled.
Smaller the container is optimal because of the storage issue of container on property. Large containers cause obstruction and are harder to handle as aging progresses
If large carts (240L) are used and garbage is picked up bi-weekly, that could be a really smelly wait and potential for maggot growth in the summer. I know that meats and what not should be put in the green bin but enough people don't do that so it could be an issue for the workers picking the bins up!
I think weekly garbage pick up is necessary (vs bi-weekly) due to the challenge of disposing of pet waste. For this, bi-weekly would be ok in the winter, but NOT the summer.
I am sad to see that instead of encouraging people to waste less and recycle more, this will encourage more garbage. Also, in the historical area especially, these garbage bins will be a sore sight. And their early-morning collection is very noisy. We often live in semi-detached houses therefore have no place for these unsightly plastic horrors. My husband and I don't fill one bag of garbage per month. Please teach people to put out less garbage by charging $5. per bag starting with the first bag. This is 2024...
"120 litre cart size would be best. The larger size would only encourage more garbage going out, plus I can’t see a lot of us being able to manage to get the large size out to the curb.
Also, I like the *idea of biweekly garbage pickup but I’m concerned about the smell, maggots etc in the summertime if it sits for two weeks"
Don't give me less service for more money like seems to happen every single time. Also, this means I have to now have the storage room for these carts. The city isn't even taking that into consideration. What about all of the single family houses packed with Indians ? How are they going to find room for a cart big enough to take up another bed space ? What about single family houses that have been split into 3 or 4 apartments ? Where are they going to store these huge bins ? Isn't the rat problem in the city going to get MUCH MUCH WORSE with all of these garbage carts, presumably being stored outside full of garbage ?
In the winter will we need to shovel out a hole for the bins or can it be collected from on top of snow banks?
I think money could be better spent elsewhere such as improving places where people walk and cycle. The city has a good thing going with its current waste collection program. Given the financial strains that the city is under, why are we changing to a cart-based system? What is the city going to do about the noise from these vehicles? Where are they going to go in areas where there is little space? i.e. downtown where the sidewalks are very narrow. This definitely affects accessibility because those with strollers and walkers will not be able to use the sidewalk.
I don’t think we should use too big of a bin because most garages will not have enough room in them for the bins. Also it will be easier to handle for the older members of our community.
Already it is hard to keep animals out of the cart they chew garbage can lids they chew the green bin. Already it is hard to keep the three bins plus garbage can let alone thinking of making them bigger
"I think it sounds reasonable
The 240 L bins make no sense - where are people going to store them? The smaller bins are easier to store and prevent what I see in the GTA and Guelph - large bins just sitting in the driveway between collection dates "
"I find the proposal excessive for a couple of seniors. We never even produce 25L per week. One small white kitchen garbage bag is all that we put out.
I do not agree with the idea of collecting garbage once every 2 weeks as the smell of garbage is not pleasant and it will attract small animals. Our racoons already know how to open the Green Bins. It might work in the winter months but with the march of climate change the heat of summer would be too much over 2 weeks.
What kind of a latching system will be on these new bins
Weekly pickup as most people have no area to store the bins inside. The more complicated the city makes it the more people will just find other ways to get rid of garbage.
Sometimes we have a lot of garbage, sometimes a little. I'm worried on the days we have more it won't fit in the smaller sized cart.
The bins you are talking about are much larger than my need. In the summer, having a bin sitting around for 2 week will draw various rodents and create a larger mess. Being a senior without a car, large item pick up at a fee of $40 is reasonable, a more frequent leaf and yard waste pick up would be optimal.
Please keep in mind that many people are seniors, larger bins might be hard to handle?? Storage might also be a problem?
Just concerned about the size of the bin with a single car garage (and a car inside the garage), will there be room for the bins ? And the ability to get them in/out easily ?
Maybe you can show us some storage options for the larger carts. I don't think they'll fit nicely in my shed that I would consider building another shed for them,, what might that look like?
"Please keep weekly garbage pick up. This is a big issue for people who have diapers, adult continence products, menstrual products or pets.
Please do not make it an acceptable practice to store bins in front of people’s houses. "
"My husband and I find that we seldom have more than 1/2 bag of garbage a week, so a garbage bin that is the size of one bag would be excellent. however I am not sure that in the summer that I would like the smell of a garbage bag wth meat wrappers hanging around for two weeks, We try to wash all the non-recyclable parts but that's not always possible. and freeze compostables that would smell but the freezer holds only so much.
Too big a garbage, compost container becomes very difficult for small older people to manage. My sister in another province finds that she must get someone to move her compost and garbage bins to the curb, sometimes having to hire someone. I really want in the gardening season yard waste pickup each week, or at least bi-weekly, It would reduce the number of trips I make to the composting facility with the ensuing addition of CO2 going into the air. (However, the composting facility does allow one to see at random acquaintances from all over the city. When that happens it makes a pleasure out of an odious chore.)
None of these are problems in the winter, unless there is a windstorm that brings down a lot of branches. And with the cold, odours are seldom a problem."
Bigger (multi-week) wheeled bins can be a challenge to fit inside garages between/past vehicles and often don’t look great in front of row houses where they can’t be stored indoors and rolled out each week.
I'm not sure how this affects us, I usually only have one small bag of garbage evert week. Will we just throw our garbage in there?? yuck. That would mean I would have to clean it every time it is used. I'm also worried about summer time if you have it less then once a week, maggits another yuck.........I should have attended the meeting, sorry.
Keep the carts small enough for storage purposes and so the average person can safely move it to and from the Curb. If you go to bi-weekly garbage pick up, we will need bigger carts and will create a stench!
Will bylaws about where you can store your containers change BEFORE the new system is implemented?
Concerned about biweekly pickup being considered. Smell, maggots etc are a risk in summertime if only picked up every two weeks
Are you also considering a Blue cart and a Grey cart? I would have no place to store those. And I have invested in an attractive trunk to store the Blue and Grey bins. I compost my own food and garden waste and use it in my gardens. As for garbage, I only need to put out it out every 5 or 6 weeks. But try as I might not to, I create a lot of recycle. Do all of these materials truly get recycled or does some of the plastic end up in landfill?
Proposed new containers are too large for the average single dwelling and storage will be a problem. The containers, particularly for the compost/green waste need to be assured of a good secure lid locking mechanism to prevent critters from access.
Garbage needs to be picked up weekly. We moved from Brampton (2017) where garbage was picked up every second week. It required a) bigger bins that were more difficult to move (especially in snow), b) a (bigger) shed to keep animals away from the garbage, c) a way of reducing the smell as items decayed. The large bins were very unsightly due to their size. People can take yard waste to the KARC if they need to at times other than the fall pickup. It's very convenient.
As we are currently allowed 1 garbage bag per week, the 120L garbage cart bi-weekly should be large enough. This would look neater sitting outside most homes next to the 120l green bin.
For those of us who are living in rural Kingston & have long driveways and are elderly, it is necessary to have the smaller can option that can fit in a car trunk, especially in the winter. There is no way I can push a larger cart on wheels to the end of my driveway. So I hope you are considering that we need options of what size carts are available.
"House garages today are small
Filling them up with numerous types of waste cans is not desirable
Garbage needs to be removed weekly not bi weekly for Health and environmental concerns "
We have a tiny bag of garbage weekly so the size of the bin for bi-weekly collection would be huge and hard to store outside. I hope they would have raccoon-proof latches if garbage is stored longer. They can smell absorptive pads from chicken packaging.
I think this is a terrible idea, saving little in terms of energy or money. We can only put out one bag now (except 2x/year) why such big containers? Someone still has to drag them to the street, so no savings on backs or knees. We only put out a very small bag of garbage each week, this container is WAY TOO BIG!!!! I do not wish to have pick up every two weeks in the summer with the risk of rodents and bugs. This is a wasteful, expensive, ridiculous idea. Please put time and energy into housing, and climate crisis
Would prefer smaller bin - 120L - due to small garage where we also put car in winter.
"I've concern with the concept of a case by case basis for barrier-free considerations. Current practices are often problematic with systemic barriers. How is the proposed system to perform any more effectively with larger containers. For example, will pathways of all modes of travel be more blocked with these larger containers because they are less maneuverable and storable?
Will there be monitoring and performance evaluations based on staff using the new system appropriately? The public have endured damage to personal containers and specialty containers often due to staff mishandling and not using automatic loading devices. The current green bins don't appear to ever have been used with the automated devices as intended (hand dumped seems the best practice). How will the new system and its cost(s) guarantee receptacles are used properly? "
Storage of the bins isn’t simple.
If this moves to bi-weekly collection you run the risk of attracting rodents.
What about those of us who live in the country and have to drive our garbage up to the main road because we have a private driveway.? The bins are too big to put in our car.
"Question 2: My household would take 2 months to fill a 120-L cart and such a cart would occupy needed storage space in my garage. I would be reluctant to pay for anything larger than a 30-L cart
Question 5 is confusing - how large is ""large"" and s the cost $30 for the first item and $40 for any additional items?"
The city should not move to a bi-weekly collection. Waste and organics sitting around for 2 weeks in the heat of summer would be disgusting. It’s already a challenge sitting around by the end of one week. Placing garbage and or organic in our freezers for two weeks is not a suitable solution to this.
This imposed program WILL just kill job and is completely unacceptable. How is some who can't handle these type of bin suppose to get their garbage out! Where are people supposed to keep these large bins? And how are low income people going to afford this increase.
"240L cart not feasible to store anywhere safely inaccessible to wild animals becasue too big to bring into garage or shed
How will missing carts be replaced? Is there consideration for families that so not have a vehicle to be able to pick up new replacement carts from. KARC?"
Cart-based collection would be difficult for small households who don't have access to outdoor storage for bins. Please have an option for <120 L bins (~50 L).
" Downtown areas with narrow streets and high density residential areas will result in significant congestion along the streets and sidewalks with larger carts.
Placement of carts in winter is already difficult; larger carts will be extremely difficult with uncleared snow banks, compounding the congestion noted above for downtown areas.
This system appears to be encouraging increased garbage disposal instead of enhancing waste diversion rates with its generally larger capacity options.
""Recycling collection will be the responsibility of recycling producers"" is not entirely true; these producers must work in coordination with recycling processors, which in turn will be in coordination with municipal blue box programs. This cannot be relied upon exclusive of regular municipal waste pickup programs for continued success in increased waste diversion rates. To ensure active participation and efficiency for any waste collection program, these factors must be considered in conjunction with others like this transition to a cart based system. Therefore, it is my strong belief this aspect must be scoped into this exercise. "
"As a family with young children, it is difficult not to produce over a bag of garbage per week. We have a lot of diapers, etc. As is, we already feel that the collection system is biased against young, large families whom tend to produce more waste. We often have to pay for a second bag.
A biweekly collection would have a large negative affect on us. Moreover, calling in every week for an extra pick up of a bag of garbage (for 30$) seems unreasonable. We also would not want to ""store"" extra garbage bags containing diapers, etc until it is cost effective to dispose of them.
We hope the city decides to use the larger 240L bins, and implement a weekly pick up, as this would accomodate our family's needs. "
This is not a good program for the older parts of the city. Carts may be good in the suburbs, where most houses have a garage for cart storage and a paved driveway to roll the carts. In the central city, there is no place to store the carts and much fewer paved driveways. The switch to carts ruined the front yards of my old neighbourhood in Toronto. The carts had to be kept on the front of the townhouse streets, which looked terrible and smelled awful in the summer. 51 garbage bins outside our front doors in our block alone.
"Niagara Region offers large item pick ups for free, this is a better option. Items put out to the curb are often picked up by others who can reuse the items. $30 flat fee makes no sense, same cost for a book shelf and a couch?
I would use a cart based system, however, I am concerned for people who use bags currently and don't have the space for a garbage can / cart. Not everyone has a garage or shed, and the city of Kingston has a bylaw preventing garbage / recycling on front porches. How will we accommodate people in this position?
Also, I stopped using the green bin system as the bins kept cracking due to waste collector abuse, and it was a pain to get them replaced. How will the city implement replacement garbage carts? If the city wants to use this system, the city should pay for the carts, and make replacement easier, especially if they're investing in carts which aren't durable, like the green bins. Perhaps collectors could keep a few carts on the truck and when they see a cart which needs to be retired, they could swap them out."
"Residents have to have a place to out these carts so large carts may be an issue accommodating quite a number of households. If you don't have a large garage or no garage are we going to have eye sores all over the city with storing these carts?
I think you offer bi weekly during the growing season only to get rid of flower and tree cuttings. Weekly collection from Nov to May?"
"Large carts will inevitably become an eyesore in locations where there are inadequate storage options.
Biweekly pickup of waste will lead to issues of smell (particularly in the summer) and possible increase in illegal dumping. "
Room in my garage to house containers
City by-laws in where bins must be stored need to be changed to permit front yard storage, particularly in older parts of the city, or to have collection take place in laneways where they exist.
We live in a row house where the only access from back to front is through the house. We keep garbage at the rear and it's 10 steps up. Wheeled bins will work for detached houses but offer no advantage for our situation. Concerned about weight and lifting as seniors. Aware bylaws will permit bins out front but don't prefer or support that option. Unsightly. Might be able to wheel bins to end of block but not to front of house. Too far.
We had the carts in Toronto. They worked very well. The recycling cart was the best - the lid kept items from blowing all over the place. There are challenges in older neighbourhoods where carts do not fit between houses.
"~Please do one of the carts on wheels, not the one that needs to be picked up OR have options
~Consider that some downtown and apartment addresses will not have the option of storing a large plastic garbage bin on the property or inside
~Consider that the downtown bins are vandalized weekly making the current recycling not an option. Continue to offer bagged garbage option for urban areas"
The carts should not be so large that they do not fit in a garage or that the are too big to manouver.
"1. I'm hoping the carts are truly animal proof. We don't need more rats and raccoons eating through bin lids.
2. Yard waste disposal would be great for those without a vehicle to transport yard waste to the recycling centre.
3. Would a bi-weekly pickup cause garbage woes for students at the points in the year when they leave for holidays. In our neighbourhood we often have garbage sitting out on the curb for days before the City picks it up."
Be sure that they are as critter-proof as possible so that they can be left outside and/or offer suggestions as to how to make a critter-proof enclosure.
Properties, particularly heritage designated properties, with no usable space at the back of the building large enough to accommodate the carts must be exempt from this program. We can have garbage carts as the first thing people see when they come to the city.
I don't want the frequency of pickup to be any longer than one week. Smelly garbage/compost can become a big problem within a couple days during the hot summer. Two weeks is far too long.
"I put 'prefer not to answer' for a number of these questions. We live downtown in a row house and the size of the ""free"" garbage bins (240L and 360L) are much too large for me to store.
I would like a small 120L cart. I would be happy to put this out weekly or bi-weekly. With the recycling and organics collection, our garbage is minimal. "
These carts all need to be stored somewhere accessible on peoples' property, particularly in winter. Can you ensure that they have sturdy wheels and handles? Thanks very much for the survey :-)
Not impressed, have nowhere to put the carts, the green bin is already a pain in the butt. You haven't taken into consideration that not everyone has a garage. I have a shared drive way and no garage in the winter there is nowhere to store these large bins and deal with the snow. Also if garbage isn't picked up weekly there will be a vermin problem in the city, I am a small family that rarely puts out a full green bag, now will be putting out a half empty bin. One size fits all solutions rarely do.
I would like to see the option for much smaller carts for garbage (we certainly don’t need a bin that large for even a month’s worth of garbage from our household of 5 people) and would prefer not to have to devote storage space to multiple large bins for garbage, organics and recycling. I think this system will be a huge step backwards from the waste diversion goals that the city has been working towards.
"I think it will be more costly than what we have and potentially put people out of work.
In addition, I would expect the additional ""equipment"" failures will mean that a certain percentage of the time (2-5%) there is no pick up, or late pickups.
I also think it creates more garbage as I have so little garbage, that I don't use a can, only my kitchen garbage bag which is about a third the size of a normal green garbage bag. So now we have all of these carts being introduced and in a few years, replaced, damaged, etc. Not to mention that homeowners now have another cart they will have to store. It creates an eyesore for neighbourhoods without adequate indoor storage for the carts, where we have a street of carts.
Neither of these two things are really desirable. I have been very happy with the collection thus far, having been a resident for 18 years."
Prefer weekly garbage pick-up especially during extreme hot summer days to avoid maggots developing. New containers would help reduce smell and attract less bugs, rodents, wild animals, crows and seagulls. High wind gusts have increased over the years knocking over containers emptying contents across the street and lawns. Some containers have been blown across the street. Many will not pick up garbage off their street and place into a container. Hopefully new containers will help.
consider how awful it will look to have large bins standing on porches of the buildings down town and in the ghetto. Walk through some of the neighbourhoods in Toronto where there are no garages or back alleys to get a true picture of how awful it looks.
I currently use a 24 LITER can - very, very rarely putting out a 77L : I truly cannot physically move/drag/keep clean/STORE anything larger - wheels are irrelevant to moving bins on rough ground/snow/ice & safety lids may be impossible with non functionning hands...
"We previously lived in a city that allowed residents to choose from 3 city mandated garbage size bins on a house by house basis. It was a great way to go because there isn't a one size fits all solution. That way folks who needed a 120L bin could have that and other households that needed a 240L or 360L bin could use that. The trucks could accommodate all 3 of those bin sizes.
It would be great to see more leaf and shrub pick up. We were surprised when we moved here how infrequent it is here.
Garbage pick up every other week in the winter seems just fine but in the summer it can definitely get too smelly with pick up every other week.
So grateful that Kingston has a green bin program.
Thanks for your time!"
I have nowhere to store carts except at the front of my house and I would prefer not to have them there.
YES! Question 2 should have another option available when you select biweekly collection: 120 L. I would LOVE to have leaf pickup year around (I make maybe 5-10 trips per season to Lappan's lane) and would be thrilled to give up on weekly garbage for this benefit. However, I don't want nor need an enormous 240L can. (Dare I ask why is a family creating this much garbage. We have two households - 7 persons - use one small 120L'ish garbage can each week!) Other issue with the huge cans is that it will not fit in my garage (which I am lucky to have downtown) and could be very hard to navigate through snow. Please consider modifying the survey for this option!
"Without back alleys, I don't see how this is going to work. Are we to all have our garbage hanging out in the front yard? The problem is going to be especially obvious in the downtown where the houses are often connected, with no room between the houses to bring garbage cans to the front. Also townhouses will be a big problem. Are people going to have to haul their garbage bins right through their living room to the front door? I can't believe that no one has thought of these things, so I am going to connect to someone at City Hall to find out what the answers are.
Also the concept of pre-booking extra garbage is a bit difficult for me. Obviously, those who came up with the idea have smart phones and know how to use them. But I can't imagine that everybody knows in advance they are going to have extra garbage."
I am very concerned about this program in the downtown area. While garbage carts might help cut down on rat problems, many downtown homes (and I'm guessing suburban town houses) have little to no space to store these bins except in front of their houses (and sometimes not even then). If the city insists on carts in these situations, the smallest cart possible should be allowed. Larger bins also encourage more waste, are more difficult to maneuver in snow/ice and due to their bigger weight, would be more difficult than a smaller cart for people with mobility issues or who are frailer. These schemes, while necessary to decrease worker injuries and increase efficiency, also cause more waste (many people already have garbage cans, and our current green bins will become garbage), many of us don't use garbage cans at all. A cart for every household will increase emissions and increases plastic use. What isn't addressed here is bin liners for the garbage carts. What will those look like, and will a certain type be mandatory?
Main concern is food sitting for 2 weeks between pickups and rodents increasing. It is hard enough now with weekly pickups to keep them out of garbage. Large family's and now people sharing residences to save money make households need to be able to put out more waste.
What are people going to do with their existing garbage cans and green bins? Please have an innovative and smart way for people to dispose of these when they are no longer needed. Also, please make sure that new developments have sufficient room in garages for the bins. in my subdivision the garages are too small so cars park outside to keep garbage materials inside, or people have to leave their garbage receptacles outside which attracts rodents and is unattractive (plus stuff blows around).
Please find a way to make waste collection more accessible for those who live downtown. Where will these be stored for downtown apartments? As it stands now the recycling program is not suited for the downtown apartments. If others throw trash in your recycling bin you guys fail to pick it up. The current green bin program does not work for units in apartment buildings without trash rooms as there is nowhere to store the bins. Will this be an issue for the new program?
Do NOT change to bi-weekly pickup. This would result in rotten garbage sitting around.
"Avoid large bin sizes, as shown by experiences in other cities (Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa & Vancouver):
. Most bins end up being stored outside (unsightly and attract rats & other vermin).
. Green bins should be emptied every week.
. Large sizes are too difficult to clean, especially the green bins which require cleaning every week. In Vancouver, there are rat traps everywhere, restaurants and private houses).
. Small (100 or 120 ml) blue and grey bins should be used in conjunction with garbage bins.
feel that residents should have the option to choose the bin that best suits their household. A 120L sounds good for small households. Whereas the 240L bin sounds good for a household with a large amount of occupants (family of 4 or student house
These carts take up a lot of room and are unsightly on the street. And will still require a garbage bag! I’d prefer to pay for an extra bag tag on weeks when needed! Do not allow large items to be piled in the streets waiting for the city to pick up. Or weekly leaf collection because people just let the leaves blow out of the bags into the streets and other peoples property and driveways and into the street! The streets will looks like a dumpster in no time.
If the bins are large, they may need to be kept outside and should have animal proof lids (like the current green bin carts, they work great)
Start weekly pickup of recycling please! We have a ~4-5 paper recycling bins on garage shelves we put out every two weeks while the metal/glass piles up in the house. Keep in mind, the city has failed to update the local building code bylaws to support a ‘green’ future, but we are asked to do the initiatives. We leave our green bin outside and don’t use it because our cars consume the space in our garage. We don’t have room for a large garbage bin, but we would need the 240L size and it would have to be outside regardless. I can tuck several (flexible) garbage bags between/around the cars and carry them out at 6am, but I can’t do that with ANY size of garbage bin. In New Brunswick I noticed people had wooden garbage holding bins by the end of their driveways near the road. This makes sense. It should be okay to build something at the end of the driveway, on the lawn, to house the large garbage bins, green bins and recycle bins we’ve been asked to keep. Please include descriptions for how to house all the bins out front so we can make good use of them and still have them picked up by the city.
We are concerned about the storage requirements for these two bins. It will make the neighbourhood look very cluttered with these bins being left outside. We do not have room in our garage for two bins, plus our car.
I am concerned about where are we expected to store these bins. They will not fit in my garage with my car in there. You mentioned changing bylaws to allow storing them in my front yard or porch. Who wants to see that? Nobody.
I feel this is a horrid idea because the carts will end up disgracing our streets as people will not have storage space for them. It will increase rodents when students or uncaring tenants choose to not close the lids properly. Also garbage collectors are sometimes very conscientious and pick up an item that may have been displaced by wind. I have personally interacted with several people caring for our city in this service and they deserve to keep their jobs.
What will be the physical impact with the size of the garbage bins? Will the bins be difficult to store. Other municipalities , residents have to leave the bins at the end of their driveway and carry the garbage bag out to the bin. Looks awful and physically demanding.
For me I am a one person household, all the carts are too big, I have one very small garbage bag white 20”x20”. Plus my green bin bag is even smaller it is 16”x16’ So why would I haul those large carts to the curb. It’s absolutely ridiculous for single home owner’s like myself to be saddled with those large carts.
I believe the garbage would stink way too much if you only collected every other week!! The smell would also attract animals more.
The selection of carts and pickup frequency should include consideration of domestic and wild animals. The longer waste sits around the more attractive it is to animals. The carts should be animal proof.
"Do you know how many new ""condos"" have gone up lately that don't have an on site superintendent or even a common room? The city allowed the building of those units on Development drive, they don't have a common garbage room so all the units have their garbage bags and recycling bins sitting on their porches which are extremely close to the street because the city decided to allow them to be built so close to the street despite this being a residential area. It's an unsanitary eye sore walking or driving past those units, and seeing those little porches full of garbage bags and recycling bins and now you want to add even more bins to the clutter??? This is disturbing because I know that these types of units are being built all over Kingston.
Also the green bins are extremely awkward and cumbersome to move around, they are top heavy so when you try to drag them to the curb when there is any snow or ice or to be honest even a strong wind, they start falling over as you are dragging them and it's very easy to sprain your wrist. We have a large elderly population who are going to be affected by these bins, and don't say oh you can push them on the wheels, doesn't work, most times you have to drag it. And now the city wants to change our garbage collection over to the same design? I'm not happy about that, the carts aren't safe, especially the smaller design that the city is thinking of. And that smaller design may say it holds 120L but I don't buy it, it's also narrow which means that anything that is wide or oversized that could be put in a bag now can't be put in this bin, so we're stuck holding onto it.
And the recycling program needs to be worked on, so much of it gets blown around on collection day and is just left in the streets afterwards causing litter, having plastics only picked up every 2 weeks means that the boxes are full and easy for the wind to blow the items on top away which happens so often and adding more boxes to our households is crazy, where are we supposed to keep storing all these carts and boxes???
Homes without garages already have to store recycle bins, organic wast and garbage cans usually in their porch or front of house. It it very ugly. Moving to larger bins may pose more unsightly. This is very prominent in other communities. Walking up to their front door is unsightly and smells in warmer months
Having a bi weekly pick up will make the rat problem in the city even worse. Hopefully these garbage containers can’t be opened by raccoons like the green bins can!
I dont have room in front of my house for another bin and i only put out one small bag (grocery size) per week.
I am concerned about the size of these bins as I have limited space to store them! I live in a townhouse property (where the city allowed very little parking to be constructed) so people use their driveways and garages for cars. Where do we put these large bins?
Bylaw should be changed to allow location of carts in front of house. Side and backyards are not suitable. If compost and garbage are not collected weekly, storage in attached garages will be unsanitary and smelly.
Will the city take away the current green bin and replace it with the new cart . Most residents do not have storage space for both.
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What we heard
To date, City staff have held five in-person open houses and hosted an online Q&A forum to gather early feedback on Kingston's transition to a cart-based waste collection system. These engagements provided an opportunity to ask questions, express potential concerns, and view various cart sizes. Across these engagements, we received input from almost 200 people.
The most common concern that staff heard was related to cart sizes and storage. Residents were also concerned about potentially decreasing waste diversion with the use of larger carts. This, along with storage concerns, were the main reasons many people preferred the 120L cart.
Questions and answers are available in the Q&A tab for you to peruse. A survey asking for additional feedback will be available on the Get Involved Kingston page in the coming days.
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Tell me more about...cart-based waste collection
Starting in 2025, Kingston will begin transitioning garbage and green bins to an automated cart system. Between now and then there a lot of work that has to happen. In November, Adam Mueller joined the City's podcast, Tell Me More, to chat about this switch, why now, and how province-wide changes to recycling collection may impact Kingston. Listen to the episode.
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In-person engagements
Thank you to everyone who visited our in-person events and provided feedback!
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The City is hosting in-person engagements around Kingston to gather feedback and answer questions about cart-based waste collection.
Visit us at one of the following locations.
- Rideau Heights Community Centre: Friday, Nov. 24 from 6 - 8 p.m. – Room AB
- Kingston East Community Centre: Tuesday, Nov. 28 from 5 - 7 p.m. – Meeting Room 3
- INVISTA Centre: Wednesday, Dec. 6 from 5 - 7 p.m. – Downstairs Hall A
- Artillery Park Aquatic Centre: Friday, Dec. 8 from 12 - 3 p.m. – Pool Side Room
- Centre 70: Friday, Dec. 8 from 5 - 7 p.m. – Reddendale Hall
Key Dates
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October 12 → October 31 2023
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November → December 2023
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January 18 → February 09 2024
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July 2025
Who's Listening
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Supervisor, Solid Waste
Phone 613-546-4291 ext 2702 Email wastestrategies@cityofkingston.ca -
Waste Services Coordinator, Solid Waste
Phone 613-546-4291 ext 2704 Email wastestrategies@cityofkingston.ca
Project Timeline
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Ask us your questions
Cart-based waste collection has finished this stageThis consultation is open for contributions. Ask us your questions about cart-based waste collection in Kingston.
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In-person engagement
Cart-based waste collection has finished this stageIn Fall 2023, we will be visiting different parts of Kingston to gather input and show various cart samples to residents.
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Cart-based collection preferences survey
Cart-based waste collection has finished this stageStaff will compile and review feedback based on engagements, then develop options and ask for input from the public.
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Under Review
Cart-based waste collection is currently at this stageContributions to this consultation are closed for evaluation and review. The project team will report back on key outcomes.
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Implementation begins
this is an upcoming stage for Cart-based waste collectionA staged cart rollout will begin in Summer 2025
Related projects
Notice of Collection
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