Downtown Waste Project

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. (See concept descriptions below)

A: Underground communal containers

B: Cart collection with enclosed outdoor storage permitted

C: 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.

Please note: This project began in an older version of our website. Some of the tools and information may appear different than originally designed.

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