Waste: the Barrie landfill, the Blue Box handover, and what council still decides

What is the Barrie landfill, and what does its approval allow?

The landfill at 272 Ferndale Drive North has an 18.6-hectare waste fill area inside a 121.3-hectare site. It runs under an Environmental Compliance Approval from the provincial environment ministry, last amended October 5, 2020. Three conditions matter most:

• Capacity. The site capacity is 3,924,746 cubic metres, counting waste and cover material, and deposits may not exceed it.
• Barrie only. "Wastes generated only from within the geographic boundaries of the City of Barrie" may be landfilled there, and none from outside that service area. (The household hazardous waste depot may also take waste from Simcoe County residents.)
• Closure plan. At least two years before the expected closure date, or before the date 90% of the total disposal volume is reached if that comes first, the City must submit a detailed site closure plan to the Province for approval.

Between 2009 and 2015 the City excavated about 1.62 million cubic metres of old waste, 44% of the licensed volume, screened it, installed an engineered liner and leachate collection system, and added landfill-gas collection. A 2016 paper by a Golder Associates engineer and a City staff member says this moved the expected closure from 2017 to 2035, through re-using the screened fines as daily cover, compacting waste more densely, and lower disposal rates.

Sources: Amended Environmental Compliance Approval A250101, Barrie Landfill Site (272 Ferndale Dr N), Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, dated October 5, 2020. Original document. 18.6 ha waste fill area in a 121.3 ha site. Condition 4.4: site capacity 3,924,746 m³ including cover. Condition 4.5: only waste generated within the City of Barrie may be landfilled. Condition 15.1: a Site Closure Plan is due "at least two (2) years prior to the anticipated date of closure of this Site or the date 90 per cent of the total waste disposal volume is reached, whichever occurs first". Barrie Landfill Reclamation and Re-Engineering 2009–2015 (CSCE Resilient Infrastructure conference, paper ENV-626), P. J. Dewaele (Golder Associates) and S. Brunet (City of Barrie), Canadian Society for Civil Engineering, dated June 1, 2016. Original document. 1,620,000 m³ of waste excavated 2009–2015 (44% of licensed volume). Section 5: in 2004 the landfill was predicted to fill by 2017; reclamation was initially predicted to add 7 years (2024); remaining airspace about 815,000 m³ in 2009 and 1,144,550 m³ in 2015; lifespan estimated to extend to 2035, from re-use of fines as daily cover, greater compaction density and lower disposal rates. All retrieved October 7, 2026.

When will the landfill be full?

Every dated estimate this site found is below. Some sources give a calendar year; the financial statements give only a number of years. Where only years are given, the last column adds them to the statement's year. That column is this site's arithmetic, not a date the City has stated.

Sources: Consolidated financial statements, 2006 to 2015 (audited), landfill closure and post-closure liability note, City of Barrie. The publisher's own copy is gone; this links to the Internet Archive. Landfill note, years to capacity and remaining m³: 2006–2008 "remaining life span of 20 years"; 2010 and 2011 13 years (236,700 and 644,500 m³); 2012 and 2013 13 years (593,641 and 545,399 m³); 2014 21 years, 1,553,901 m³, increase "due to the completion of work associated with the Landfill Re-Engineering Project"; 2015 20 years, 1,144,550 m³. The link is the 2015 statements; earlier years are Internet Archive copies from the same City folder, and the 2006 to 2011 landfill notes are read from scanned pages (this site's OCR). This site does not hold the 2009, 2016 or 2017 statements. Consolidated financial statements, 2018 to 2025 (audited), City of Barrie. Original document. Dividends received from Barrie Hydro Holdings Inc. (BHHI), from the cash-flow statement, and the note on BHHI: it held 8.78% of Alectra in 2017 and 2018 and 8.37% from 2019; the City holds 100% of BHHI; the $20 million Alectra promissory note matured May 31, 2024. One statement per year; the earlier years are at barrie.ca/media/1124 (2018), /media/1495 (2019), /media/989 (2020), /media/3715 (2021), /media/11129 (2022), /media/12460 (2023) and /media/14164 (2024). Barrie Landfill Reclamation and Re-Engineering 2009–2015 (CSCE Resilient Infrastructure conference, paper ENV-626), P. J. Dewaele (Golder Associates) and S. Brunet (City of Barrie), Canadian Society for Civil Engineering, dated June 1, 2016. Original document. 1,620,000 m³ of waste excavated 2009–2015 (44% of licensed volume). Section 5: in 2004 the landfill was predicted to fill by 2017; reclamation was initially predicted to add 7 years (2024); remaining airspace about 815,000 m³ in 2009 and 1,144,550 m³ in 2015; lifespan estimated to extend to 2035, from re-use of fines as daily cover, greater compaction density and lower disposal rates. Sustainable Waste Management Strategy (Golder Associates report 10-1188-0055), City of Barrie, dated October 30, 2012. Original document. Executive summary: "Barrie's landfill is expected to close in 2035." Diversion targets 50% by 2016, 54% by 2021, 57% by 2026 and 60% by 2031, on Waste Diversion Ontario's residential (GAP) measure. Section 1.3.4: new landfill capacity inside Barrie "would be challenging"; it recommends weighing energy-from-waste, gasification, mechanical biological treatment and similar technologies on a regional basis. Green bin for all single-family homes since May 2006; $3.00 bag tags as of May 1, 2012. New legislation could see municipalities raise stink over landfills near their borders, BarrieToday (Bob Bruton), dated March 31, 2021. Original document. News report. Sandra Brunet, the City's manager of business performance and environmental sustainability, is reported as putting the estimated landfill closure date at 2031 and saying no sites have been investigated for a landfill. The Bill 197 motion was withdrawn from General Committee (21-G-069, March 29, 2021). Landfill Site (web page), archived copies January 2022 to August 2026, City of Barrie. Original document. Archived copy. "It is expected to last until 2035." appears in Internet Archive copies from January 26, 2022 to March 13, 2026 and in none from April 8, 2026 (also June 8 and August 13, 2026). The August 7, 2025 copy puts the cost of closing at "over $6.5 million" and site maintenance at about $500,000 a year for the first 25 years; landfills are typically monitored 50 years after closure. All retrieved October 7, 2026.

Three things stand out. First, the 2014 statements, which went from 13 to 21 years, say the increase in capacity was "due to the completion of work associated with the Landfill Re-Engineering Project". Second, the 2023 statements gave 12 years, the 2024 statements 20, and the 2025 statements 21; neither later statement says what changed, and this site found no document that does. Third, in March 2021 BarrieToday reported a City manager giving "an estimated landfill closure date of 2031", while the City's own statements and web page pointed to 2035. The web page said "It is expected to last until 2035" in every archived copy from January 2022 to March 13, 2026, and not in the copies from April 8, 2026 onward. The City's strategy page still said the landfill "is expected to close in 2035" on April 8, 2026.

Where the numbers stop: the statements gave remaining space in cubic metres up to the end of 2021, when it was 950,735 m³, 24% of the site's total. From 2023 the landfill is reported as an asset retirement obligation, and the statements give years only. This site found no published remaining-volume figure after 2021, and no current closure year from the City as of October 7, 2026.

Sources: Consolidated financial statements, 2018 to 2025 (audited), City of Barrie. Original document. Dividends received from Barrie Hydro Holdings Inc. (BHHI), from the cash-flow statement, and the note on BHHI: it held 8.78% of Alectra in 2017 and 2018 and 8.37% from 2019; the City holds 100% of BHHI; the $20 million Alectra promissory note matured May 31, 2024. One statement per year; the earlier years are at barrie.ca/media/1124 (2018), /media/1495 (2019), /media/989 (2020), /media/3715 (2021), /media/11129 (2022), /media/12460 (2023) and /media/14164 (2024). New legislation could see municipalities raise stink over landfills near their borders, BarrieToday (Bob Bruton), dated March 31, 2021. Original document. News report. Sandra Brunet, the City's manager of business performance and environmental sustainability, is reported as putting the estimated landfill closure date at 2031 and saying no sites have been investigated for a landfill. The Bill 197 motion was withdrawn from General Committee (21-G-069, March 29, 2021). Landfill Site (web page), archived copies January 2022 to August 2026, City of Barrie. Original document. Archived copy. "It is expected to last until 2035." appears in Internet Archive copies from January 26, 2022 to March 13, 2026 and in none from April 8, 2026 (also June 8 and August 13, 2026). The August 7, 2025 copy puts the cost of closing at "over $6.5 million" and site maintenance at about $500,000 a year for the first 25 years; landfills are typically monitored 50 years after closure. Sustainable Waste Management Strategy (web page), as archived April 8, 2026, City of Barrie. Original document. Archived copy. Status "In Effect", last updated 2012; still says "Barrie's landfill is expected to close in 2035." All retrieved October 7, 2026.

What happens when it closes, and what is being studied?

The approval counts back from 90% full: the closure plan is due at least two years before that point, if it comes before the expected closure date. By this site's arithmetic, 90% full is when about 392,475 m³, 10% of the approved capacity, is left; at the end of 2021 the City reported 24% left. The City's landfill page put the cost of closing the landfill at "over $6.5 million", with site maintenance of about $500,000 a year for the first 25 years, and noted that landfills are typically monitored for 50 years after closure.

This site found no council decision on what replaces it. The 2012 Sustainable Waste Management Strategy said that, given the lack of land inside Barrie, new landfill capacity "would be challenging", and recommended looking at energy-from-waste, gasification, mechanical biological treatment and similar technologies, on a regional basis because they usually need more waste than Barrie alone produces. In 2021 BarrieToday reported staff saying no sites had been investigated for a landfill and that future disposal options would be investigated "as the time arrives".

The 2026 capital plan carries two studies. "Studies for Future Solid Waste Disposal Options" (ES1056) has $500,000 approved, of which $273,529 had been spent by August 2025, with no further money in the 2026–2035 plan. An update of the 2012 strategy (ES1034) has $100,000 approved and $118 spent. This site found no published results from either. The neighbouring County of Simcoe, which runs its own system, expects its Nottawasaga landfill to reach capacity in 2026 and its Oro landfill in 2027.

Sources: Amended Environmental Compliance Approval A250101, Barrie Landfill Site (272 Ferndale Dr N), Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, dated October 5, 2020. Original document. 18.6 ha waste fill area in a 121.3 ha site. Condition 4.4: site capacity 3,924,746 m³ including cover. Condition 4.5: only waste generated within the City of Barrie may be landfilled. Condition 15.1: a Site Closure Plan is due "at least two (2) years prior to the anticipated date of closure of this Site or the date 90 per cent of the total waste disposal volume is reached, whichever occurs first". Retrieved October 7, 2026. Landfill Site (web page), archived copies January 2022 to August 2026, City of Barrie. Original document. Archived copy. "It is expected to last until 2035." appears in Internet Archive copies from January 26, 2022 to March 13, 2026 and in none from April 8, 2026 (also June 8 and August 13, 2026). The August 7, 2025 copy puts the cost of closing at "over $6.5 million" and site maintenance at about $500,000 a year for the first 25 years; landfills are typically monitored 50 years after closure. Retrieved October 7, 2026. Sustainable Waste Management Strategy (Golder Associates report 10-1188-0055), City of Barrie, dated October 30, 2012. Original document. Executive summary: "Barrie's landfill is expected to close in 2035." Diversion targets 50% by 2016, 54% by 2021, 57% by 2026 and 60% by 2031, on Waste Diversion Ontario's residential (GAP) measure. Section 1.3.4: new landfill capacity inside Barrie "would be challenging"; it recommends weighing energy-from-waste, gasification, mechanical biological treatment and similar technologies on a regional basis. Green bin for all single-family homes since May 2006; $3.00 bag tags as of May 1, 2012. Retrieved October 7, 2026. New legislation could see municipalities raise stink over landfills near their borders, BarrieToday (Bob Bruton), dated March 31, 2021. Original document. News report. Sandra Brunet, the City's manager of business performance and environmental sustainability, is reported as putting the estimated landfill closure date at 2031 and saying no sites have been investigated for a landfill. The Bill 197 motion was withdrawn from General Committee (21-G-069, March 29, 2021). Retrieved October 7, 2026. 2026–2035 Capital Plan (summary tables), City of Barrie. Original document. Per-project ten-year spending tables: total spent to Aug 2025, previously approved budget, and 2026–2035 by year. Retrieved August 9, 2026. County Council Highlights, meeting held March 10, 2026, County of Simcoe, dated March 10, 2026. Original document. 2025 Solid Waste Data Summary: Nottawasaga landfill expected to reach capacity in 2026 and Oro in 2027. Retrieved October 7, 2026.

Who runs recycling now?

Ontario's Blue Box Regulation, O. Reg. 391/21, makes the producers of packaging and paper responsible for residential recycling, and moved municipal programs over in groups between 2023 and 2025. The provincial transition schedule lists "Barrie, City of" at May 1, 2024. That was the date council asked for: in January 2020 General Committee said Barrie would like to transition on May 1, 2024 if its collection contract could be extended to then, so the Blue Box handover and a new contract for the City's other waste streams would line up. Council adopted it on January 27, 2020.

The City now says plainly that "Residential recycling collection is not managed by the City." Circular Materials is responsible for it, its contractor in Barrie is Emterra, and the City does not supply residential recycling carts; Circular Materials "might make changes to the way they collect recycling in the future". Decisions about residential recycling collection now rest with Circular Materials under the provincial regulation, not with council. The City still runs recycling for registered businesses.

In 2022, the last year Barrie reported to the provincial Datacall, its Blue Box program cost $2.76 million, or $2.36 million after material revenue, for 10,215 tonnes marketed. Under the old program, businesses paid half the cost of municipal Blue Box programs. The 2026 budget notes the end of $233,000 in transition funding from Circular Materials for the residential recycling drop-off, and $105,000 saved by no longer buying blue boxes and green bins. This site found no City figure for the overall saving from the transition.

Sources: O. Reg. 391/21: Blue Box, under the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016, Government of Ontario (e-Laws). Original document. Makes producers responsible for residential Blue Box collection; transition period July 1, 2023 to December 31, 2025, by the Blue Box Transition Schedule. Retrieved October 7, 2026. Blue Box Transition Schedule (dated June 1, 2021, as amended February 23, 2024), Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (Environmental Registry), dated February 23, 2024. Original document. "Barrie, City of 2024-05-01". Programs transition in three groups between 2023 and 2025. Retrieved October 7, 2026. General Committee Minutes, January 20, 2020, City of Barrie — General Committee, dated January 20, 2020. Original document. 20-G-012 Transition to Full Producer Responsibility: if the collection contract can be extended, Barrie would like to transition its Blue Box program effective May 1, 2024, to align with a new contract for the other waste streams. Retrieved August 9, 2026. City Council Minutes, January 27, 2020, City of Barrie — City Council, dated January 27, 2020. Original document. Section "B" of the January 20, 2020 General Committee report, including 20-G-012, adopted (CARRIED). Retrieved August 9, 2026. Curbside Collection (web page), as archived August 14, 2026, City of Barrie. Original document. Archived copy. "Residential recycling collection is not managed by the City." Circular Materials is responsible under the Blue Box Regulation; its contractor is Emterra. The City collects recycling for registered businesses. Automated cart collection since September 8, 2025; most homes get garbage every other week. Retrieved October 7, 2026. Curbside Collection Carts (web page), as archived June 6, 2026, City of Barrie. Original document. Archived copy. 240 L garbage cart standard, 120 L optional; 120 L organics cart collected weekly; tagged extra bags collected only beside a set-out cart; residential recycling carts not provided by the City; audits find "over 30% of garbage collected curbside is organic waste". Retrieved October 7, 2026. Municipal Datacall reports, 2002–2023: residential diversion, organics and Blue Box cost (rows for Barrie), Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority (formerly Waste Diversion Ontario). Original document. Barrie residential (GAP) diversion rate: 45.3% (2006), 45.4% (2014), 49.8% (2015), 51.5% (2016), 54.7% (2021), 55.7% (2022); disposed 32,027 t (2006) and 24,479 t (2022); household organics 2,438 t (2006), 6,436 t (2022); 2022 Blue Box gross cost $2,757,836, net $2,358,831, 10,215 t marketed. Barrie has no row in any 2023 workbook. Figures are Barrie's rows in the yearly report files (rpra.ca/wp-content/uploads/YYYY-Datacall-Reports.zip). Retrieved October 7, 2026. Datacall (program page), Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority. Original document. Under the legacy Blue Box Program businesses provided half the funding and municipalities the other half; final Datacall reports were submitted in 2024 for 2025 funding; the transition takes full effect January 1, 2026; historical data remain available. Retrieved October 7, 2026. Service Areas — Tax Rate (2026 Business Plan & Operating Budget), City of Barrie. Original document. Retrieved August 9, 2026.

How is garbage collected, and what does extra cost?

• May 2006: curbside green bin service for all single-family homes.
• 2012–2013: one bag or can of garbage per home per week; extra bags with a tag, sold at $3.00 per tag as of May 1, 2012.
• January 1, 2015: garbage every other week for single-family homes, under a collection contract council awarded in September 2013.
• May 2024: a new City collection contractor, Emterra, replaced Waste Connections of Canada; staff briefed General Committee in April 2024 on the changes, including a curbside readiness checklist for May 1, 2024, the day residential recycling passed to producers.
• September 8, 2025: automated cart collection. Each home has a 240-litre garbage cart (or a 120-litre one on request), emptied every other week, and a 120-litre organics cart, emptied weekly. Extra garbage is collected only in bags with a tag attached, and only when the cart is also set out.

A garbage bag tag still costs $3.00. At the landfill, residents pay $10.00 for the first 100 kg of garbage and $176 a tonne after that. The City's cart page says annual audits find "over 30% of garbage collected curbside is organic waste" that could have gone in the organics cart.

Sources: Sustainable Waste Management Strategy (Golder Associates report 10-1188-0055), City of Barrie, dated October 30, 2012. Original document. Executive summary: "Barrie's landfill is expected to close in 2035." Diversion targets 50% by 2016, 54% by 2021, 57% by 2026 and 60% by 2031, on Waste Diversion Ontario's residential (GAP) measure. Section 1.3.4: new landfill capacity inside Barrie "would be challenging"; it recommends weighing energy-from-waste, gasification, mechanical biological treatment and similar technologies on a regional basis. Green bin for all single-family homes since May 2006; $3.00 bag tags as of May 1, 2012. Retrieved October 7, 2026. Garbage Collection (web page), as archived January 25, 2013, City of Barrie. The publisher's own copy is gone; this links to the Internet Archive. Curbside garbage limited to one bag or can per residential dwelling per week; extra bags collected with a purchased tag. Retrieved October 7, 2026. General Committee Minutes, September 23, 2013, City of Barrie — General Committee, dated September 23, 2013. Original document. 13-G-233: contract FIN 2013-055P to BFI Canada, eight years from April 7, 2014; every-other-week single-family garbage collection effective January 1, 2015; IC&I limit cut from 10 to 6 bags a week. Retrieved August 9, 2026. City Council Minutes, September 30, 2013, City of Barrie — City Council, dated September 30, 2013. Original document. 13-G-233 adopted as amended (staff to study diapers and pet waste in the green bin, and multi-residential front-end collection and green bin service). Retrieved August 9, 2026. General Committee Minutes, April 10, 2024 (7 p.m.), City of Barrie — General Committee, dated April 10, 2024. Original document. 24-G-079, staff presentation on waste collection changes: the new collection contractor Emterra, changes to the recycling program, a Readiness Curbside Collection Checklist for May 1, 2024; thanks to outgoing Waste Connections of Canada. Received by Council April 17, 2024. Retrieved October 7, 2026. Curbside Collection Carts (web page), as archived June 6, 2026, City of Barrie. Original document. Archived copy. 240 L garbage cart standard, 120 L optional; 120 L organics cart collected weekly; tagged extra bags collected only beside a set-out cart; residential recycling carts not provided by the City; audits find "over 30% of garbage collected curbside is organic waste". Retrieved October 7, 2026. Curbside Collection (web page), as archived August 14, 2026, City of Barrie. Original document. Archived copy. "Residential recycling collection is not managed by the City." Circular Materials is responsible under the Blue Box Regulation; its contractor is Emterra. The City collects recycling for registered businesses. Automated cart collection since September 8, 2025; most homes get garbage every other week. Retrieved October 7, 2026. Landfill Rates (rate sheet), City of Barrie. Original document. Residential garbage $10.00 for the first 100 kg, $176/tonne after; commercial $15.00 then $176/tonne; garbage bag tags $3.00 each. Landfill open to Barrie residents only. PDF last modified March 30, 2026. Retrieved October 7, 2026.

How much household waste is kept out of the landfill?

By the provincial measure, Barrie diverted 45.3% of its residential waste in 2006 and 55.7% in 2022. Residential garbage sent for disposal fell from 32,027 tonnes to 24,479 tonnes over those years, while total residential waste stayed between about 54,000 and 60,000 tonnes a year. Green bin tonnage rose from 2,438 tonnes in 2006, the program's first year, to 6,436 tonnes in 2022.

The 2012 strategy, which measured diversion the same way, set targets of 50% by 2016, 54% by 2021, 57% by 2026 and 60% by 2031. The reported rate was 51.5% in 2016 and 54.7% in 2021.

Where the data stop: Barrie has no row in the 2023 Datacall files, and the provincial authority says the Datacall has ended with the move to producer responsibility. There is no consistent diversion figure for Barrie after 2022. The City's budget now tracks a different measure, garbage generated per person: 128 kg in 2023, 125 kg in 2024, and a planned 121 kg for 2026. It cannot be compared with the rates above. The budget also puts current landfilling at about 21,400 tonnes of garbage a year.

Sources: Municipal Datacall reports, 2002–2023: residential diversion, organics and Blue Box cost (rows for Barrie), Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority (formerly Waste Diversion Ontario). Original document. Barrie residential (GAP) diversion rate: 45.3% (2006), 45.4% (2014), 49.8% (2015), 51.5% (2016), 54.7% (2021), 55.7% (2022); disposed 32,027 t (2006) and 24,479 t (2022); household organics 2,438 t (2006), 6,436 t (2022); 2022 Blue Box gross cost $2,757,836, net $2,358,831, 10,215 t marketed. Barrie has no row in any 2023 workbook. Figures are Barrie's rows in the yearly report files (rpra.ca/wp-content/uploads/YYYY-Datacall-Reports.zip). Retrieved October 7, 2026. Datacall (program page), Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority. Original document. Under the legacy Blue Box Program businesses provided half the funding and municipalities the other half; final Datacall reports were submitted in 2024 for 2025 funding; the transition takes full effect January 1, 2026; historical data remain available. Retrieved October 7, 2026. Sustainable Waste Management Strategy (Golder Associates report 10-1188-0055), City of Barrie, dated October 30, 2012. Original document. Executive summary: "Barrie's landfill is expected to close in 2035." Diversion targets 50% by 2016, 54% by 2021, 57% by 2026 and 60% by 2031, on Waste Diversion Ontario's residential (GAP) measure. Section 1.3.4: new landfill capacity inside Barrie "would be challenging"; it recommends weighing energy-from-waste, gasification, mechanical biological treatment and similar technologies on a regional basis. Green bin for all single-family homes since May 2006; $3.00 bag tags as of May 1, 2012. Retrieved October 7, 2026. General Committee Minutes, September 23, 2013, City of Barrie — General Committee, dated September 23, 2013. Original document. 13-G-233: contract FIN 2013-055P to BFI Canada, eight years from April 7, 2014; every-other-week single-family garbage collection effective January 1, 2015; IC&I limit cut from 10 to 6 bags a week. Retrieved August 9, 2026. Service Areas — Tax Rate (2026 Business Plan & Operating Budget), City of Barrie. Original document. Retrieved August 9, 2026. Operating Budget and Financial Overview — 2026 Business Plan, City of Barrie. Original document. Retrieved August 9, 2026.

What does waste cost the tax levy?

The Waste Management and Environmental Sustainability department, which also runs environmental compliance programs such as spill response and source-water protection, has a 2026 base budget of $15.98 million net of its own revenue, up 3.42% from the 2025 budget of $15.45 million. Its largest cost increase, $420,000 for services, is "primarily attributed to curbside waste collection costs": the first full year of new automated-collection rates, more homes served, and the contract's annual inflation increases.

In January 2026 council directed staff to buy extra waste collection for the downtown BIA as a pilot, "including but not limited to 7-day a week waste collection of public space bins as well as addressing illegal dumping and litter", paid from the tax rate stabilization reserve, and to report back on results.

Sources: Service Areas — Tax Rate (2026 Business Plan & Operating Budget), City of Barrie. Original document. City Council Minutes, January 28, 2026, City of Barrie — City Council, dated January 28, 2026. Original document. 2026-A-008 (Carried): procure additional waste collection in the BIA as a pilot, "including but not limited to 7-day a week waste collection of public space bins as well as addressing illegal dumping and litter", funded from the tax rate stabilization reserve; report back to General Committee. All retrieved August 9, 2026.

What has solid waste actually cost, line by line?

The three lines together came to $9.7 million in 2010 and $19.3 million in 2025 (this site's sum). The negative disposal years come from the filing's "materials" column; the return does not say why.

• ¹ 2024: From 2024 the collection line shrinks, from $5,615,891 (2023) to $802,223, its salaries from $2,126,991 to $576,929, while salaries on the disposal and diversion lines rise ($102,961 to $1,091,814; $595,481 to $1,501,651). The filing does not say why; costs appear to have moved between the three lines, so each line on its own is not comparable across 2023-2024.

Source: Financial Information Return, Schedule 40 (Consolidated Statement of Operations: Expenses), City of Barrie, 2010 to 2025, Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (as filed by the City of Barrie), dated June 15, 2026. Original document. The Province's open-data files fir_data_2010.zip to fir_data_2025.zip, Barrie rows (MUNID 43042). Function totals are column 11, "Total Expenses After Adjustments", of each subtotal line: 0299 general government, 0499 protection (0410 fire, 0420 police), 0699 transportation, 0899 environmental, 1099 health, 1299 social and family, 1499 social housing, 1699 recreation and culture, 1899 planning and development; 9910 is the total. Police salaries are line 0420, column 1. 2025 is the City's return as last updated on June 15, 2026; earlier years can be revised by later filings. Retrieved October 8, 2026.

What can council actually decide?

• Council decides: garbage, organics and yard waste collection (how often, cart sizes, bag limits, tag prices) and the contracts that deliver it; landfill fees and depot services; funding and timing of the disposal-options study and the strategy update; the closure plan the approval requires, and which successor option to pursue, subject to provincial approval.
• Council does not decide: residential recycling, which producers run under the Province's Blue Box Regulation; the landfill's approved capacity, Barrie-only service area and closure conditions, which are set in the provincial approval; or the rules for approving any new landfill or disposal facility, which are provincial.

Sources: O. Reg. 391/21: Blue Box, under the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016, Government of Ontario (e-Laws). Original document. Makes producers responsible for residential Blue Box collection; transition period July 1, 2023 to December 31, 2025, by the Blue Box Transition Schedule. Amended Environmental Compliance Approval A250101, Barrie Landfill Site (272 Ferndale Dr N), Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, dated October 5, 2020. Original document. 18.6 ha waste fill area in a 121.3 ha site. Condition 4.4: site capacity 3,924,746 m³ including cover. Condition 4.5: only waste generated within the City of Barrie may be landfilled. Condition 15.1: a Site Closure Plan is due "at least two (2) years prior to the anticipated date of closure of this Site or the date 90 per cent of the total waste disposal volume is reached, whichever occurs first". Curbside Collection (web page), as archived August 14, 2026, City of Barrie. Original document. Archived copy. "Residential recycling collection is not managed by the City." Circular Materials is responsible under the Blue Box Regulation; its contractor is Emterra. The City collects recycling for registered businesses. Automated cart collection since September 8, 2025; most homes get garbage every other week. New legislation could see municipalities raise stink over landfills near their borders, BarrieToday (Bob Bruton), dated March 31, 2021. Original document. News report. Sandra Brunet, the City's manager of business performance and environmental sustainability, is reported as putting the estimated landfill closure date at 2031 and saying no sites have been investigated for a landfill. The Bill 197 motion was withdrawn from General Committee (21-G-069, March 29, 2021). All retrieved October 7, 2026.