As I have received a few emails and questions regarding the Regional decision of Miller Waste to begin charging a minimum of $10 to drop off yard waste at their Bloomington Road site, I thought I would provide an explanation as to why this previously subsidized service will be discontinued.
It should be noted that this facility is not owned by York Region and thus not a public facility. It is owned and operated by Miller Waste. For years, residents have been able to drop off up to 1 cubic yard (up to nine paper bags) of yard waste for “free” at this facility.
But it was not “free”. York Region (taxpayers) footed the bill.
This subsidized service was offered in addition to curbside collection of yard waste despite the fact that municipal curbside collection of yard waste in Aurora has no bag limit.
During the 2020 budget discussions, York Regional Council agreed to discontinue the subsidized drop off service for residential yard waste at this location as an adjustment to reduce operating costs.
While this subsidized service was great for some residents, Regional Council felt that the policy for yard waste drop off needed to be fair and consistent for all Regional residents.
No Regional Transfer Stations and/or yard waste drop off location offered a subsidized service and all had the $10 minimum charge.
So what does this mean for yard waste pick up and/or drop off in Aurora?? Well the Town continues to provide scheduled municipal curbside pickup of yard waste with no limits – every second week from April to November
If you prefer to drop off yard waste to one of the many Regional facilities or the Miller waste facility, there will be a $10 minimum charge. As per the previous fee structure, any loads above 1 cubic yard are subject to a $65/tonne fee at Miller Waste Facility and 125/tonne fee at the Georgina Transfer Station.
While I understand that this change might be upsetting to some that previously used this subsidized service; given that taxpayers already pay for contracted curbside pickup of yard waste – with no bag limits – and given that all other regional waste transfer stations charge a minimum $10 fee, it did not make financial sense to continue to subsidize a redundant service.
4 Responses
I would agree if the town allowed grass clippings to be included in curbside pickup… It does not.. Since we are not allowed to purchase chemicals to eliminate weeds, we are forced to bag clippings to prevent weed seeds from dropping back into our lawn and spreading over the whole lawn. The drop off at Millar allowed us to curtail the spread of weeds in an environmentally friendly way. If the town is prepared to once again include grass clippings in the curbside pickup, residents can at least try to keep a handle on the weed proliferation in Aurora lawns. If not, your reasoning seems very hollow and counter productive.
Well said Doug. The town needs to include grass clipping in the curbside pickup.
Agreed with Doug – allow grass to be picked up and this makes sense. This wasn’t an issue in Vaughan and Richmond Hill when I lived there. It seems a bit unfair that I’d have to pay $10 every time I mow my lawn – maybe some of us DON’T want to “grass cycle” and end up with lawn clippings all over our freshly trimmed yard.
100% agree, i have weed clippings and had my bags orange tagged. when i checked online I still saw free drop off, but cant pay $10 for 2 bags of weed clippings, most of which is freon the municipal owned blvd. Stop the drop off yes, but pick up clippings as well.