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Northern York Region towns reach new garbage deal with GFL
Municipalities save significant money negotiating as a unit

Yorkregion.com
By Simon Martin
Dec. 12, 2016

The Northern Six (N6) municipalities of York Region are in the process of ratifying a new waste collection deal with existing service provider Green for Life (GFL).

The estimated cost of the deal is $10.3 million per year for eight years starting in 2018. There will be a cost-sharing formula in place, with each municipality agreeing to pay based on the amount of waste they generate.

The ability for the N6 municipalities to negotiate as a unit saves everyone a lot of money, Newmarket Mayor Tony Van Bynen said.

“It’s a fabulous achievement for the N6. When I go back and take a look over the last eight years, we’ve saved close to $10 million because we’ve found the value in working together,” he said. “It’s the way government needs to be able to do business in the future. I don’t think anyone could ever convince me that six individual contracts would be as well priced as one.”

Van Bynen estimated the contract would save Newmarket $1 million a year.

In Aurora, councillors questioned the $500,000 increase in the contract over the last waste contract that was negotiated.

“Through the development of the new contract, we were cognizant of the issues we had with GFL in the past,” Aurora Infrastructure and Environmental Services Director Ilmar Siminovskis said. “We have focused on increasing tools to enforce the contract and increase customer service support.”

While enhanced customer service as well as added services, such as battery collection, come with added costs, a large portion of the increase is simply due to the price index of the services and a new fleet of vehicles.

“We expected the 30 per cent (cost) increase because of the realized savings of the contract that was locked in 2007,” he added. “If you examine other municipalities, these rates are not out of line.”

The waste contract covers garbage, recycling, source-separated organic material, yard waste and special waste.

While the rate is going up, East Gwillimbury Mayor Virginia Hackson said everybody benefits when the municipalities work together. “We have a much greater ability to lower a cost when you are dealing six municipalities,” she said.

One of the complaints Hackson heard most often from residents was how difficult it was to get a hold of GFL if they missed their house. She hopes an improved customer call centre that is part of the agreement will make communication easier for residents, with 75 per cent of phone calls answered within 20 seconds. Hackson also said residents will be able to check an anticipated pickup time on the GFL website in real time.

Here's a look at the amount of waste collected by Green For Life in each of York Region's northern six municipalities in 2014: