{"id":7505,"date":"2024-06-19T20:29:05","date_gmt":"2024-06-19T23:29:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/?p=7505"},"modified":"2024-06-19T20:29:05","modified_gmt":"2024-06-19T23:29:05","slug":"region-of-queens-considers-more-enforcement-collection-to-curb-greybox-garbage-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/2024\/06\/19\/region-of-queens-considers-more-enforcement-collection-to-curb-greybox-garbage-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"Region of Queens considers more enforcement, collection to curb greybox garbage problem"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Garbage piled up at one of the ‘greybox’ sites in Queens County. (Submitted)<\/p><\/div>\n

Region of Queens officials plan to take action to curb the ongoing garbage problem in the county\u2019s increasingly popular cottage country.<\/span><\/p>\n

Councillors will vote on several recommendations at their June 25 meeting that they hope will mitigate chronic trash pileups and overflows at so-called \u201cgreybox\u201d sites in areas such as Labelle and Molega.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are about 40 greybox sites on or near private roads throughout the municipality. They consume half of the region\u2019s garbage collection budget.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The private roads do not have the regular garbage pickup service of most property owners who live on public roads. So the municipality has dropoff sites throughout the region where residents can deposit their waste, recyclables and compostables.<\/span><\/p>\n

The region picks up the garbage once a week in spring, fall and winter and either two or three times a week in summer months.<\/span><\/p>\n

District 6 Coun. David Brown has a lot of recreational or cottage properties in his area. In January, he asked the region\u2019s staff to come up with possible solutions to the refuse abuse.<\/span><\/p>\n

Brown said that especially in the busier summer months, people regularly just toss their trash on the ground around the greyboxes, instead of putting it inside. They\u2019ll also leave big household items like furniture at the sites, even though the municipal landfill is nearby.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even non-residents regularly leave their garbage, compounding the problem. Some bring their trash in on Fridays and dump them at the sites when they visit their properties on the weekends.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe bylaw says that those grey bins are for the residents of private roads only for bagged garbage, created on site,” Brown said. “And people who are spending the weekend and dumping everything on Sunday night as they leave, a lot of that stuff can be taken to the landfill.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Region of Queens officials want to crack down on how people on private roads use greyboxes for their garbage. (Rick Conrad)<\/p><\/div>\n

CAO Cody Joudry said he and other staff members have had many discussions about why the problem persists and how to fix it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAt some of our worst sites, it starts to reach a threshold … at which it seems to overflow,\u201d Joudry said. \u201cAnd once one person does something, then all of a sudden everyone does it, sort of disrespect the whole thing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Joudry said staff suggest trying a few different things to see what works. He made five recommendations:<\/span><\/p>\n