Uncollected blue bins leave GTA residents frustrated

Residents say their recycling hasn’t been collected, with some locals saying racoons have begun digging through the leftover material. Allison Hurst reports.

Ontario’s new recycling collection program is off to a rocky start, as blue bins were uncollected for days, leaving many residents frustrated.

According to Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish, Peel Region received more than 2,000 complaints in one day alone.

She said the takeover of Circular Materials, the not-for-profit organization responsible for running the new recycling program since Jan. 1, “was not smooth.”

The new program is a result of the province’s transition to a model in which packaging and paper producers are fully responsible for funding and managing recycling.

In Toronto, some residents had been waiting for days to get their recycling picked up.

“It’s disgusting. I’m embarrassed as a resident of the City of Toronto to see all this,” Sylvia Cappellacci said, pointing to the uncollected blue bins on her street.

She told CTV News Toronto that she received a flyer in the mail indicating that there would be an extra blue bin pickup on Wednesday, but no one came.

Another resident, Ihsaan Knah, said he was told by a representative earlier this week that their recycling would be picked up within two days. Those two days passed, and his blue bin still sits at the curb.

“We’re right beside the Humber River here. We got an animal situation. We have coyotes, we have raccoons, we have squirrels that are already going through people’s bins, and this doesn’t help the situation,” Knah said.

Coun. Anthony Perruzza said the calls to the city have been “through the roof.”

He shared that in his Humber River-Black Creek ward, about 10,000 households placed their blue bins out but were not collected.

Perruzza said recycling collection should have remained a municipal responsibility.

“We have the infrastructure to deal with it. We have an extensive 311 centre,” he said on Friday. “When something happens like this, we have the ability and the resources to go back and make sure that we take care of it in a timely way.”

NDP MPP Tom Rakocevic, who represents the ward, said he heard from residents who were irate that they could not reach anyone at Circular Materials for information.

“People are frustrated. They have a right to be. I’m frustrated,” Rakocevic said.

In a statement sent to CTV News Toronto on Friday, Circular Materials CEO Allen Langdon said his organization and GFL Environment are working around the clock to ensure all recycling is collected by the end of the week.

“We apologize again for the inconvenience and frustration and thank residents for their patience and understanding as we work through and resolve these early challenges,” Langdon said.

With files from CTV News Toronto’s Allison Hurst