Interview with the Warden - Jan 9th 2025

Thursday, 9 January 2025 10:10

Warden Marcus Ryan talks about the new waste collection contract that was approved by Oxford County Council yesterday.

OXFORD COUNTY - Oxford County Council has signed off on a new waste collection contract and it includes some big changes.

A green bin program will begin in 2027 for most of the county, except for Woodstock and South-West Oxford. They will be able to start the green bin program next year because they have municipal service agreements. The province will be taking over recycling collection when these changes take place.

Warden Marcus Ryan says this will help extend the life of the landfill.

"Four years ago, all of Oxford County said no to a private landfill. Part of the reason we said no to that was we think as a community that putting our waste in the ground is not a good thing for the future. This is a further extension of that commitment to move torward zero waste."

County officials thought about implementing a two-bag limit for garbage each week, but Council decided against it. Warden Ryan says most people won't be throwing as much in the garbage because of the green bin program, so they might not even fill two bags each week.

In addition to the green bin program, Warden Ryan says the County will also introduce a six-day cycle for waste collection.

"My garbage collection is on every Monday right now. Under the new system in 2027 my collection would be Monday this week, Tuesday the next week, the week after that would be Wednesday, and the week after that would be Thursday. A lot of people are saying 'Oh now I will have to figure this out' but one of the Councillors, Blandford-Blenheim Mayor Mark Peterson said yesterday 'How do you figure out how to go to the arena for your kids hockey? You check the schedule.' It's the same as that."

You can also sign up for reminders through the Wasteline smartphone app.

Warden Ryan says the new schedule will take some getting used to, but it's worth it in the long run.

"What it will do is save about, depending on which version you compare it to, 1-point-something to $1.7 million per year. This is 1 to 1.7 percent of the overall tax levy."

He adds the County will be hard at work over the next couple of years, shining a light on these new changes in hopes of eliminating confusion when the time comes.

During his interview with Dan and Marcie this morning, Warden Ryan also discussed the following:

- His quiet Christmas holiday with his family.

- The new Lighthouse transitional home opening in Ingersoll this year.

- Some big anniversaries Oxford County will be celebrating in 2025.

You can listen to the full interview below: