City of Woodstock to take a deep dive into the garbage problem

Piled-up and illegally dumped garbage have become almost a daily problem in downtown Woodstock. Woodstock Mayor Jerry Acchione and Coun. Deb Tait have brought forward a joint motion to Oxford County Council to lower the cost of a bag tag to $1. (Lee Griffi Photo)

Lee Griffi, Editor

Woodstock staff have been directed to prepare a report for council that will look into the increasingly problematic issue of illegal dumping, particularly in the downtown core.

“We know that we have a problem. I’ve been hearing about this problem since I was first elected,” explained Coun. Bernia Martin, who brought the motion forward.

“The problem isn’t going away, and we are very much reacting as staff. We’re spending a lot of time, energy and resources reacting to the problem. The motion is quite simply asking for a report on some options, what is our jurisdiction as a city, because it is a bit complex in a two-tier system,” she added.

Oxford County is responsible for the garbage collection but no longer handles recycling as the province farmed it out to Circular Materials, a national non-profit organization.

“I look forward to seeing what some recommendations might be so we can be a little more proactive in dealing with this problem rather than reactive,” said Martin.

Coun. Deb Tait made it clear she would not be supporting the motion, saying any increase in illegal dumping is a direct result of the increase in the cost of garbage tags this year from $2 up to $3.

“I think it’s pretty clear that it started as soon as we had the bag tags, we had illegal dumping. At county last year when (the cost) was raised, we all.”

Coun. Martin interjected at that moment with a point of order, saying Tait’s comments were contrary to the motion.

“This motion isn’t about how the problem came about. The motion is about asking for a report.”

Mayor Jerry Acchione allowed Tait to continue.

“The reason I’m not supporting is that I believe the report won’t show anything other than the bag tags. Until those tags are removed or lowered, it will be a never-ending issue.”

Martin’s motion was passed by a 5-1 vote, with Tait the lone objector.

Tait has escalated her opposition by introducing a notice of motion with Acchione at the county level to lower the cost of a bag tag to $1. He told the Echo the reasoning behind the move is straightforward.

“It is clear that bag tags are a huge reason why municipalities in Oxford County, especially our urban towns and the City of Woodstock, are needing to deal with all this illegal garbage dumping. Our residents are stretched to their limits, and some are refusing to pay the $3 for every bag of garbage. It is their way of saying enough is enough.”

Acchione explained the county collects the proceeds from bag tag sales and when residents refuse to buy them and dump their garbage, it comes at a cost.

“City of Woodstock residents are paying twice as their levy is paying to discard that waste in dumping fees charged after we need to send clean up crews to clean it all up. I am personally tired of putting the cost of this on our residents when it is clear what the problem is and how we can prevent it from even happening.”

He also wanted to know where the savings are from the province taking over responsibility for recycling.

“Why can’t we give this back to our tax-burdened citizens of Oxford County? I already made a motion that failed to remove garbage bag tags, so having them at $1.00 is a small way I am hoping my fellow councillors can help us save costs at every household.”

Tait explained nothing can be done to prevent illegal dumping and the only alternative is to lower the cost of tags.

“Honestly, with the amount of money people are paying in taxes to the county and the city, here’s another user fee on top of it.”

Tait is confident the county can find the money to offset the loss in revenue, particularly since half the cost of delivering the former recycling program was administrative. She added Tillsonburg and rural areas are having similar problems.

“I talked to Mayor Deb Gilvesy and they are having the same problem downtown. People are taking their garbage and dumping it. And from what I understand, bags of garbage are being dumped in rural areas.”

The motion was tabled at Wednesday’s county council meeting but won’t be discussed until the Feb. 25 regular meeting. Should it be approved, the $1 fee would kick in on Jan. 1, 2027.

Story Update

Acchione read his notice of motion at Wednesday’s council meeting, but Warden Marcus Ryan immediately ruled it out of order. The Woodstock mayor challenged the ruling, but after some confusing debate the motion was not allowed. This is an ongoing story and will be updated in the next edition of the Echo.