Hamilton City Council Votes to Add $21 Million In Additional Taxpayer Costs to Waste Collection Contract

Hamilton taxpayers will be paying an additional $21 million dollars for waste collection starting in 2021.

Some or all of this cost increase could potentially have been avoided through bi-weekly colleciton of landfill waste or by bringing all collection services in-house.

City of Hamilton Material Recycling Facility

Hello Ward 8 Neighbours,

In November 2019, I proposed two potential cost saving measures for the upcoming waste collection contract:

1. Consideration of bi-weekly collection of landfill waste.
2. Bring all waste collection services in-house.

In a close vote (losing by one) both these potential cost saving measures were rejected by the majority of Hamilton City Council.

As a result, Hamilton taxpayers will now be paying an additional $21 million dollars towards waste collection between 2021 and 2028.

For more details, continue reading below…

Potential Waste Collection Cost Saving Measures Rejected

The potential for bi-weekly landfill waste collection and an internal bid for waste collection services generated significant discussion when they were introduced last year.

Ward 8 Councillor John-Paul Danko Moves To Include Internal Bid and Bi-Weekly Landfill Waste With Next Collection Contract

At the time it was estimated that bi-weekly collection of landfill waste would result in potential savings of $21 million tax dollars over the seven year collection contract and an estimated $63 million tax dollars worth of landfill space saved due to increased diversion.

Ultimately, these potential cost savings measures were rejected by the majority on Council and the waste collection tender proceeded with only the status-quo option (weekly collection of all waste).

Now, that the 2021 to 2028 contract has closed, we know that Hamilton property taxpayers will be paying $21 million dollars more for waste collection – coincidentally almost exactly the same amount that bi-weekly was projected to save.

Questions or Concerns?

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact our office here.

Councillor John-Paul Danko