Kinks to new recycling program in Kingston still needs to be ironed out: MPP

Ted Hsu says his office has received a number of complaints from residents claiming their recycling has not been picked up.

The new recycling program in Kingston is making residents see red.

Since the City of Kingston turned over responsibility for the collection of recyclables to Circular Materials Ontario on July 1, many homeowners have complained that their blue or grey box have not been picked up.

In some cases, neither boxes were collected.

Kingston and the Islands MPP Ted Hsu says his office has received a number of these complaints as the recycling program is now under provincial jurisdiction.

He says there were problems of this program right from the get-go.

Circular Materials has hired Emterra to handle the recycling collection in the Kingston area.

Hsu says their trucks are different than the ones the City of Kingston used when they collected the recycling.

In an email to KingstonDaily.ca, CEO of Circular Materials Allen Langdon says his company is aware of the missed collections during the transition.

"We are working closely with Emterra to resolve this situation," says Langdon in a statement.

"The service disruptions were the result of Emterra’s misinterpretation of the collection routes. Emterra has brought in additional staff and trucks and increased the number of bins at the depots."

Langdon goes on to say that Circular Materials are also working with the City of Kingston in returning to regular service levels.

What Hsu is worried about is that the problems related to the recycling program changing hands is more than just growing pains and it could be a much bigger issue.

In July 2023, the province changed the model for the recycling program that would see companies that produced and distribute the packaging be responsible for the cost of recycling.

Story by Ken Hashizume