Sarnia city council has adopted a Waste Master Plan that will eliminate curbside Christmas tree collection beginning in the new year, among other changes.
According to a report presented to council on Monday, few residents utilized the curbside option in 2024, as only 1,000 trees were collected across 26,734 properties.
Scrapping the curbside option will save the city $34,000.
Residents with real Christmas trees this season can take them to a drop-off location or cut them down and save them for brush collection.
Meanwhile, approximately 16,000 properties will also see their garbage collection dates changed in 2025 to accommodate for route optimization.
The report said the current collection schedule, created in 1997, is very uneven, with most collections happening on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
General Manager of Engineering and Operations David Jackson said a significant education campaign will be conducted to inform residents of the upcoming changes.
"We are planning now to send an individual letter to every home that will let them know specifically what their date is so they don't even have to go look on the website," he said. "We will do radio ads, we will have the website option, we will have the app. We recognize we will have to do significant communication and we know we'll have to be forgiving on those first couple of weeks during the transition."
Yard waste collection will also switch to bi-weekly from April to December, starting in 2025. The change will increase the total number of collections from 18 to 20 for each property but at no increased cost.
City staff have also been directed to enter into negotiations with Marcotte Disposal to extend service until 2027.
Larger recommended changes included in the Waste Master Plan, such as the introduction of a green bin program and shift to bi-weekly garbage collection, did receive some pushback from Councillor Bill Dennis.
However, staff noted the program is not recommended for implementation until 2027 to allow for procurement and communication.
The green bin program is estimated to cost $2.6 million in capital funding and the annual operating cost is estimated at $2.8 million.
"If this master plan is approved, this approval will then be used as the rope that hangs us in 2027, when the plan says we implemented significantly reduced service levels for garbage pick-up -- and [introduced] green bins at a likely very large taxpayer cost," said Dennis. "To be very clear, every single citizen who has contacted me does not want garbage collection cut in half."
As clarified during the meeting, the move toward organic waste collection is part of a provincial policy statement that mandates municipalities of Sarnia's size to implement a green bin program.
"If council has objections to it they should voice that to the Ford government," said Mayor Mike Bradley.
Staff said the option of moving garbage collection to bi-weekly would help mitigate the costs of the green bin program but it's a decision that will go back to council for consideration.
"So there [are] some other things we will present to council in the future for debate and discussion to try to find ways to offset some of those extra costs for the green bin program," Jackson said.
Councillor Chrissy McRoberts questioned if there would be an option for residents to drop off their garbage for free if the city moves to bi-weekly garbage collection.
"We can maintain weekly service if we want but it comes at a significant cost," Jackson said. "From best practice in other communities, once the green bin [program] is in place, people realize that they don't need that level of garbage service collection, but there would be alternative options for drop-off."
The city previously gauged public feedback about the master plan through an online survey and an open house held in October.
As part of the plan, the city is also investigating the option of having automated cart collection.
The Town of Petrolia is implementing its own automated collection service in December.