Businesses, churches and daycare centres in Trent Lakes will not have to pay to take their recycling to the four municipal transfer stations in Trent Lakes.
Under the new blue box recycling program in Ontario that began in January 2024, the businesses that produce recyclable materials became fully responsible for the processing and disposal of materials.
The provincial program divided users into two categories including “eligible sources” (residences, public spaces, apartments, retirement homes and schools) or “non-eligible” sources (NES) (community centres, libraries, daycares, places of worship, commercial farms, not-for-profit organizations, commercial properties and campgrounds/trailer parks).
Matt Wintges, municipal Supervisor of Waster/Public Works Coordinator told council we are now in a transition period where the materials from both categories were accepted. That will change as of January 1, 2026 when the disposal from non-eligible sources will become the responsibility of either the producer or the municipality.
The materials eligible and non-eligible sources must be kept separate.
Council was provided with three options including accepting NES materials at no cost, accept materials at a cost or completely stop accepting materials from these places.
Wintges recommended to council that municipality continue to accept blue box materials from the non-eligible sources and said if council voted to accept this option two additional bins will be needed at each transfer station to keep them separate.
Council voted to continue to accept the materials at no cost to the NES.
The cost for each bin is $1,500 each. When this cost is added to the $200 per tonne fee the municipality pays, the total cost for Trent Lakes will be approximately $16,466.
