• Council unanimously voted against a shared garbage drop-off site for Main Street businesses.
  • Staff suggested the rear lot at 6240 Main St. as a potential site, though they did not support the overall concept.
  • Ward 6 Councillor Sue Sherban cited a lack of viable solutions while recognizing the struggles faced by Village businesses.
  • The decision follows a February vote to end municipal waste collection for other non-residential properties within the municipality.
  • Like those other non-eligible sources, Downtown businesses will now need to organize private waste collection starting in 2026.

 

Stouffville’s Council has decided against creating a shared garbage drop-off site for Main Street businesses, siding with Staff recommendations to end municipal waste collection for industrial, commercial, and institutional properties at the end of 2025.

At its Oct. 1 meeting, Council voted unanimously against an option that would have seen underground bins located at 6240 Main St. Two bins would have cost $30,000 to $40,000 to install and required the removal of 8–12 parking spaces behind the 55+ Club. Annual operating costs were projected at $5,500 to $6,700 per bin, all to be funded through the Downtown Special Tax Levy.

Their final decision follows Council’s February vote to discontinue municipal collection of recycling, garbage, and green bin materials for all non-residential properties within the municipality by Dec. 31, 2025. Although it had left a potential solution for Downtown Main Street businesses on the table, the move was intended to align the Town’s eligible waste sources with Ontario’s new Blue Box regulations.

Ward 6 Councillor Sue Sherban was the only member of Council to speak to the issue before the vote. She acknowledged the general challenges Main Street businesses are facing, including the upcoming Main Street reconstruction project and the looming loss of waste collection services.

“Our businesses downtown are struggling. They are trying to keep their doors open, and this is now another significant workload for them, let alone cost to them,” Sherban said. She commended Staff for their efforts to research options, provide cost estimates, and explore alternatives, but said no workable solution emerged.

“We have investigated costs individually and collectively, and tried to find a way that might work for them and help them over this hurdle of change,” Sherban added. “At this point in time, we don’t have a formula…that would actually be affordable and convenient.”

As a member of the Village of Stouffville Advisory Committee, Sherban said she has heard firsthand from Downtown businesses about the strain they face, as well as concerns from community members about the loss of parking that would have come with the proposed bin installation. In a letter to the committee last week, she also raised concerns about fairness, noting that a shared waste system would have applied costs equally to all Downtown properties, regardless of how much garbage each business produced.

With Council’s vote, Village businesses will need to secure private waste collection services for 2026.