Starting July 4, 2022, the Town of Georgina will implement changes to its Bag Tag program. Residents will be able to place up to two bags or containers/items out for pickup every other week on their regularly scheduled collection day and any additional waste will require a bag tag. Residents can put up to a maximum of five bags/items of garbage out, two free and three paid.
“Since 2011, the number of free permitted bags or containers of garbage was limited to one every other week. We are now increasing that to two every other week,” said Mayor Margaret Quirk. “We need to get back to pre-pandemic levels when it comes to waste diversion. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and waiving the requirement for bag tags, waste production increased by more than 20 per cent in our community. We all need to do our part to reduce recyclable and organic waste being placed in the garbage. Residents are encouraged to recycle, as there is no limit on how many blue boxes or green bins that can be placed out each week.”
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Town temporarily waived the requirement for bag tags, allowing residents to place five bags/items every other week. Prior to the pandemic, the limit for residents was one bag/item every other week and bag tags had to be purchased for additional bags/items.
Effective the week of July 4, a bag tag will be required for anything over the two bag/item allotment. Bag tags are now $2 each and will be sold in groups of five for $10. They will be available at the Civic Centre and all branches of Georgina Public Library. A list of participating retail distributors in Georgina will be available on the Town’s website. This pricing change takes effect immediately. Waste beyond the two-bag limit will require a bag tag to be placed on the bag or it will not be picked up.
The Town is introducing a $12 fee for large items such as furniture, mattresses, box springs, toilets, appliances and carpeting. This pricing is comparable to some other municipalities in York Region. Each large item will require its own large item orange tag and the maximum of five collectible items during the regular bi-weekly garbage collection schedule includes tagged large items. The large item tags will be available at the Civic Centre and all branches of Georgina Public Library. A list of participating retail distributors in Georgina will be available on the Town’s website in the coming weeks.
The Town partnered with Diabetes Canada in 2021 for a textile diversion program to help support waste diversion. Residents can bring unwanted textiles (adult/children’s clothing, footwear, undergarments, towels, pillows and curtains) to the textile donation bins located at –
- Ice Palace (southwest corner), 90 Wexford Dr.
- Civic Centre (near T-ball diamonds)
- Sutton Arena (northeast corner)
Residents are encouraged to use the Recycle Coach app that can be downloaded to any IOS or Android device. The app provides pickup schedules, useful information on waste and a search function that tells users where a waste item belongs.
For more information, visit georgina.ca/WasteandRecycling.