NEWS RELEASE
THE COUNTY OF SIMCOE
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MIDHURST – The County of Simcoe will reopen additional landfills and transfer sites and extend hours of operation effective Monday, May 25. Restrictions related to essential or critical use of the sites, as well as COVID-19 precautionary measures, are still in place to ensure the continuity of collections services.
The modified schedule will include extending daily operations from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Some sites will have coverage on Saturdays to support the needs of residents and businesses. Decisions on sites that remain closed, or have limited hours, were made due to health and safety guidelines and staffing/resourcing limitations due to COVID-19.
Waste Site Schedule effective Monday, May 25, 2020 (8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.)
The county and our front-line staff ask that residents follow all Public Health recommendations and use the landfill for critical or essential drop-offs only. If you are in self-isolation, stay at home. Please store materials at your home if possible; don’t make any unnecessary visits to the sites and adhere to physical distancing when interacting with staff and other site users.
Residents are reminded to utilize curbside organics and recycling, and the two-bag garbage limit on garbage collection weeks as the best means to dispose of their usual household materials. Organics and recycling quantities for curbside collection are unlimited. Please continue to use your green bin as much as possible, and bag and seal your organics and garbage to protect the well-being of collection crews. Diapers can also be set out in sealed clear bags on garbage weeks and temporarily won’t be counted against garbage bag limits.
“The county was among the first municipalities in the area to reopen select landfills and transfers stations to the public, adding extensive measures to protect staff and site users that facilitated urgent drop-offs for residents and businesses,” said Warden George Cornell. “We recognize your increased disposal needs now that the weather is improving and that some provincial restrictions are being lifted. Please respect the safety of our staff and understand that our waste system is connected. Staff at our landfills are critical to supporting our essential curbside collection program, as transfer, landfilling and haulage of curbside waste materials occur at our sites. We’re opening additional landfills and asking for your help to keep everyone safe and our waste programs operating.”
Safety measures and restrictions:
The safety of our staff and customers is paramount, and the county is taking extra precautions with its front-line staff, including:
- Staff will work in groups
- Speaker systems installed at weigh scales to allow for staff/customer transaction through a closed window
- Increased sanitization and PPE requirements for staff
- Implementing a $10 minimum fee limit for residential car and truck drop-offs to reduce scale contact with customers and discourage small, non-urgent/critical loads (mattresses and fridges will be charged separately as always) NOTE: larger loads (estimated to be over the $10 minimum based on weight) will continue to be weighed and charged accordingly based on staff’s discretion
- Debit and credit only from an exterior terminal - tap is the preferred option
- Limiting vehicles entering the facility at any given time to reduce contact among customers and employees - this could lead to longer wait times
- Staff will no longer support individuals with unloading items from customers’ vehicles
- Additional physical distancing measures will be put in place for all interactions between customers and staff
- Increased safety and instructional signage must be obeyed
Due to constraints caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, our popular compost program and bulky item and textiles collections have all been postponed. We encourage residents to download the Simcoe County Collects app to view your waste calendar and to receive updates on our waste services. Service Simcoe is also open to field inquiries by phone and email Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 705-735-6901 or [email protected].
Please note that the current waste site schedule will remain in place until May 25. For the current schedule and details on all county service and program updates related to the COVID-19 pandemic, please visit simcoe.ca/covid19.
County of Simcoe is composed of sixteen member municipalities and provides crucial public services to County residents in addition to providing paramedic and social services to the separated cities of Barrie and Orillia. Visit our website at simcoe.ca
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