By: Sylene Argent, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Essex Free Press

Essex County resident Carolyn Crankshaw approached County Council at its June 17 meeting to represent those who signed a petition and respectfully asked that implementing reasonable opt-out provisions for seniors, low-income households, residents who compost at home, and residents with physical disabilities or mobility limitations be considered for the newly implemented Green Bin program.

The regional Green Bin program is having residents separate organic waste from the rest of their garbage as part of a pick-up program. It began last fall with phase one municipalities – Windsor, Essex, Lakeshore, Tecumseh, and LaSalle. Phase two municipalities – Kingsville, Leamington, and Amherstburg – will start this coming fall.

Organics are picked up at single-family homes and multi-residences with six-units or fewer.

Town of Essex households are paying $186.11 each for the program this year, a user-fee placed on the municipal tax bill as a County-ran program.

In March of 2022, the previous Term of County Council advised EWSWA all Essex County municipalities will participate in a regional solution for the collection and processing of organic waste material from urban settlement areas, at a minimum, as part of the short-term processing contract commencing January 1, 2025 or immediately upon the expiration of a municipality’s existing waste collection contract. Essex’s reps at County Council at the time, Councillor Steve Bjorkman and Mayor Richard Meloche, were opposed.

In June of 2024, County Council adopted a hybrid model for billing, and the decision was made to expand the program beyond urban areas to include rural areas as well. The hybrid model combined the County levy-based funding model with a user-fee methodology for the expenses associated with the regional food and organic waste Green Bin program.

The County Clerk’s Office reviewed and validated the petition, which Crankshaw appreciated. Despite some damaged pages during delivery, she said over 250 names and addresses on the petition were verified.

“The request is not about opposing organic diversion. I fully support reducing landfill waste. In fact, I have personally composted at home for many years, because I believe it is one of the most environmentally responsible things we can do,” Crankshaw said.

The concern is for residents who are already achieving the very environmental objective this program was designed for, who should at least have their concerns considered when they are paying for a service they do not use.

Crankshaw urged County Councillors to look beyond the signatures attached to the petition, which was a paper petition covering seven municipalities, not online, that could be shared in an instant.

She said that despite the help of businesses that allowed the petition to be located at their place of work for residents to sign if they so chose to, the large geographical area of Essex County made it challenging to host a paper petition.

After the petition was submitted, Crankshaw said residents have reached out to her, wishing they had known about it sooner, but only became aware of the Green Bin program upon seeing the charge on their tax bills.

Because of that challenge, she told Council it was her opinion that the petition does not represent the full number of residents who share their concerns, only the residents they were able to reach in a limited timeframe.

The process, she said, reiterates the importance of transparency.

“Whether someone supports the program or opposes it, I believe we can all agree that residents deserve clear communication before significant financial decisions take effect,” Crankshaw said, adding she also believes this experience “serves as a reminder to all of us as residents [that] Council meetings and agendas are public, yet many of us don’t follow local government as closely as we probably should.”

It has also shown how important it is for residents to stay informed and engaged before decisions are finalized, rather than after they appear on tax bills.

She asked County Council not to view the petition as the end of the conversation, but “as evidence that residents are engaged, paying attention, and asking Council to continue examining whether reasonable flexibility is possible” for the groups she outlined in the petition.

In addition, Crankshaw hopes County Council will continue to listen to the concerns raised and remain open to future discussions, should opportunities arise.

Essex Mayor Sherry Bondy thanked Crankshaw for her effort, noting it was no small task.

She was glad Crankshaw mentioned residents have a responsibility to pay attention. She also apologized for not having the foresight to get the information out there sooner.

Bondy noted discussions surrounding the Green Bin program go back to the previous Term of County Council.

Though County Council can’t turn it around or change the program now, Mayor Bondy pointed out County Council provided unanimous support to ask the Essex Windsor Solid Waste Authority (EWSWA) to provide available statistics to date on the effectiveness of the Green Bin organics collection program in each of the County’s seven local municipalities, and available statistics to date on the effectiveness of the program in urban areas and rural areas.

In April 2024, EWSWA awarded the contract for the curbside collection of source-separated organics in urban settlement areas for a seven-year period to Miller Waste Systems Inc.

They have also asked for the details of the public education campaign to date and for future planned campaigns, and the cost of the program to each of the seven local municipalities.

That was a motion she made back in February.

In addition, Town of Essex Council back in April also voted to ask EWSWA for statistics, the effectiveness, and stats on urban and rural areas pick-ups, and details of the public education campaign.