WELLINGTON NORTH – Additional waste collection could be coming to downtown Arthur and Mount Forest starting this spring.
In a new report coming to council on Monday, staff are recommending the municipality enter into an agreement with the county to receive weekly waste collection in downtown Arthur and Mount Forest after a presentation from the Mount Forest BIA last fall.
Waste collection was reduced to every other week after the implementation of the county's green bin program in 2020.
According to the Mount Forest BIA, additional waste collection in the downtown areas is necessary to address downtown stores and residents above storefronts not being able to store their waste and having no space for larger garbage bins.
The BIA also said garbage was frequently put out on the off week, causing issues from a downtown beautification perspective and requiring township staff to collect and dispose of the garbage.
Consulting with Centre Wellington, the county and local BIAs to determine the feasibility of a waste disposal service level increase, the proposed additional collection agreement closely resembles Centre Wellington's strategy to deal with similar issues in Fergus and Elora.
If approved, waste collection on the additional weeks would take place on Thursday and would "need to occur" as early as 6:00 a.m.
In Mount Forest, the pickup will take place between Queen Street at the south to Birmingham Street at the north.
In Arthur, the collection will start at Frederick Street at the north until Eliza Street at the south.
Based on a March start, the project would cost $10,000 with staff recommending the additional cost be absorbed by the township in 2024 as the BIAs have a limited ability to fund this year's costs.
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program
