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Downtown Waste Project

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Help shape the future of waste collection downtown 

About the project

The City of Guelph maintains a Solid Waste Management Master Plan (SWMMP) to set high level priorities and initiatives for the City related to waste management. The most recent SWMMP review was completed in 2021. The SWMMP review included a specific sub-report, Task 8: Downtown Service Review that studied issues and opportunities in Guelph’s Downtown Collection Area. The Downtown Service Review had two recommendations:

  • Prioritize litter containers for use by pedestrians visiting the downtown, and
  • Implement a dedicated collection strategy for downtown residential, industrial, commercial, and institutional properties

Before bringing these recommendations to Council for approval, the City completed additional engagement and analysis to better understand the waste management solutions that would work best for downtown residents, businesses, services, and their patrons.

Downtown Waste Working Group

In spring and summer of 2023, downtown residents, businesses, and services, alongside City staff from affected departments, participated in the Downtown Waste Working Group according to this Terms of Reference. Over a series of three workshops, the Working Group reviewed the Solid Waste Management Master Plan’s findings, investigated challenges and opportunities, established key design criteria, and ultimately developed three preliminary concepts for the consideration. The presentation slides and notes from the Downtown Waste Working Group meetings can be found under the Documents bar at the side of this page.

Preliminary concepts

The public was engaged on three preliminary concepts developed by the Downtown Waste Working Group. Each concept works differently and would have a different effect on our downtown streetscape. See below for a description of each option.

A black and white pictogram depicting a person holding a bag of waste next to a waste container. the container looks to be a regular size above ground but has an larger underground compartment half full of waste. A map depicting the bins would be placed strategically in the downtown is adjacent to the image. Underground communal containers

A black and white pictogram showing a waste cart being moved from the door of a business to an outdoor enclosure and then to the curb. Cart collection with enclosed outdoor storage permitted


A black and white pictogram depicting a person in front of a building handing a bag of waste to a person with a hand cart. An adjacent map depicts a route through the downtown. Doorstep collection service


Recommendation and next steps

Through the Downtown Waste Project’s engagement and analysis, an underground communal container system was determined to be the preferred concept to collect waste from properties. It best met the technical criteria by creating more storage volume without dominating the street level right-of-way and had clear public support, leading on all measures surveyed. The concept for cart collection with enclosed outdoor storage was seen as a moderate improvement, and may be applied where an underground communal container system is not feasible or where it is yet to be constructed. Complementing these approaches to service properties, updated litter containers are also required. Key features would include smaller openings and lockable covers to prevent unauthorized use, installation in semi-permanent locations where all three streams are available, clearer identification through opening shapes, colour, and signage, and aesthetics matching other street furniture.

In September 2024, Council was presented the Downtown Collection Area Update - 2024-350 report recommending that the Downtown Infrastructure Renewal Program integrate approximately 20 clusters of three communal underground containers to service properties and 50 three-stream sorting stations as new litter containers in the Downtown. Staff are now procuring the containers, completing streetscape designs including the new containers, and engaging in user fee study, as adopted under the Solid Waste Resources Recycling Program Transition Audit - 2024-349 report. The user fee study will explore options to sustainably, transparently, and equitably fund enhanced three-stream waste collection for all properties Downtown.


Help shape the future of waste collection downtown 

About the project

The City of Guelph maintains a Solid Waste Management Master Plan (SWMMP) to set high level priorities and initiatives for the City related to waste management. The most recent SWMMP review was completed in 2021. The SWMMP review included a specific sub-report, Task 8: Downtown Service Review that studied issues and opportunities in Guelph’s Downtown Collection Area. The Downtown Service Review had two recommendations:

  • Prioritize litter containers for use by pedestrians visiting the downtown, and
  • Implement a dedicated collection strategy for downtown residential, industrial, commercial, and institutional properties

Before bringing these recommendations to Council for approval, the City completed additional engagement and analysis to better understand the waste management solutions that would work best for downtown residents, businesses, services, and their patrons.

Downtown Waste Working Group

In spring and summer of 2023, downtown residents, businesses, and services, alongside City staff from affected departments, participated in the Downtown Waste Working Group according to this Terms of Reference. Over a series of three workshops, the Working Group reviewed the Solid Waste Management Master Plan’s findings, investigated challenges and opportunities, established key design criteria, and ultimately developed three preliminary concepts for the consideration. The presentation slides and notes from the Downtown Waste Working Group meetings can be found under the Documents bar at the side of this page.

Preliminary concepts

The public was engaged on three preliminary concepts developed by the Downtown Waste Working Group. Each concept works differently and would have a different effect on our downtown streetscape. See below for a description of each option.

A black and white pictogram depicting a person holding a bag of waste next to a waste container. the container looks to be a regular size above ground but has an larger underground compartment half full of waste. A map depicting the bins would be placed strategically in the downtown is adjacent to the image. Underground communal containers

A black and white pictogram showing a waste cart being moved from the door of a business to an outdoor enclosure and then to the curb. Cart collection with enclosed outdoor storage permitted


A black and white pictogram depicting a person in front of a building handing a bag of waste to a person with a hand cart. An adjacent map depicts a route through the downtown. Doorstep collection service


Recommendation and next steps

Through the Downtown Waste Project’s engagement and analysis, an underground communal container system was determined to be the preferred concept to collect waste from properties. It best met the technical criteria by creating more storage volume without dominating the street level right-of-way and had clear public support, leading on all measures surveyed. The concept for cart collection with enclosed outdoor storage was seen as a moderate improvement, and may be applied where an underground communal container system is not feasible or where it is yet to be constructed. Complementing these approaches to service properties, updated litter containers are also required. Key features would include smaller openings and lockable covers to prevent unauthorized use, installation in semi-permanent locations where all three streams are available, clearer identification through opening shapes, colour, and signage, and aesthetics matching other street furniture.

In September 2024, Council was presented the Downtown Collection Area Update - 2024-350 report recommending that the Downtown Infrastructure Renewal Program integrate approximately 20 clusters of three communal underground containers to service properties and 50 three-stream sorting stations as new litter containers in the Downtown. Staff are now procuring the containers, completing streetscape designs including the new containers, and engaging in user fee study, as adopted under the Solid Waste Resources Recycling Program Transition Audit - 2024-349 report. The user fee study will explore options to sustainably, transparently, and equitably fund enhanced three-stream waste collection for all properties Downtown.


  • Concept descriptions

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    Preliminary concepts

    The Downtown Waste Working Group has produced three preliminary design concepts. Each concept works differently and would have a different effect on our downtown streetscape.

    A: Underground communal containers

    A black and white pictogram depicting a person holding a bag of waste next to a waste container. the container looks to be a regular size above ground but has an larger underground compartment half full of waste. A map depicting the bins would be placed strategically in the downtown is adjacent to the image.

    This concept uses clusters of shared underground containers that businesses, residents, and services would have 24 hour/7 day access for disposing of garbage, recycling, and organic waste. The large underground storage volume with this option makes overfilling less likely and allows us to have fewer containers in our public space, freeing up room for other uses like seating and trees. The underground containers would be collected by a truck early in the morning before streets are busy and would use technology to signal when they need to be emptied.

    B: Doorstep collection service

    A black and white pictogram depicting a person in front of a building handing a bag of waste to a person with a hand cart. An adjacent map depicts a route through the downtown.

    This concept frees up public space from waste containers by using a mobile collection service that would collect garbage, recycling, and organics directly from each building without setting it out for collection beforehand. A collector with a small cart would travel down sidewalks and laneways, stopping at each address. To accommodate different needs of businesses, services, and residents, the collection service may be repeated multiple times per day. For missed pickups, a small number of controlled-access, above-ground bins would also be provided. An app would be available for users to be notified of the position of the collection service, their anticipated pickup time, and when they are about to arrive.

    C: Cart collection with enclosed outdoor storage permitted

    A black and white pictogram showing a waste cart being moved from the door of a business to an outdoor enclosure and then to the curb.

    This concept is similar to our current system but provides an option for users who have barriers to storing carts on their property. All users would be required to use carts, not public space containers, but would be provided the option to store them outdoors in locked, odour-, leak-, and pest-resistant enclosures. The style and placement of the enclosures would follow a design guideline developed with the input of the downtown community and pass through a review and approval process. Enclosures would be in the public space in front of a building's property or in another appropriate location that would not infringe on neighbours. Users would need to set out carts for collection and return them to the enclosures.

Page last updated: 28 Nov 2024, 09:43 AM