Fort Erie businesses brace for new costs as curbside recycling ends

Fort Erie business owners will face new weekly costs and tougher waste storage once the Niagara Region stops curbside recycling pickup for many commercial addresses in the new year.

Niagara Region council voted on November 20 to discontinue recycling collection for non-eligible sources such as businesses, institutions and places of worship starting January 1, a change that affects Fort Erie storefronts and mixed-use buildings.

The shift is tied to Ontario’s Blue Box Regulation, which moved residential recycling to producer responsibility while excluding industrial, commercial and institutional properties.

Niagara Region says residential blue and grey box recycling pickup will continue in Fort Erie under Circular Materials with no planned schedule changes.

But for businesses that currently get regional pickup, the Region says service ends January 1, and owners should arrange private recycling collection to avoid disruption.

Garbage and organics collection will remain unchanged.

Robin Bannerman, owner of the Crystal Ball Cafe on Erie Road and a member of the Crystal Beach BIA, told Fort Erie Radio she learned about the change through her husband’s involvement with the Kelsey’s restaurant chain, not through direct notice.

At her cafe, Bannerman said staff separate landfill waste, recycling and organics, and set out up to six large recycling bins a week. She estimated her waste stream is often about 70 per cent recycling and 30 per cent landfill, which she said reflects years of sorting work by her team.

“It feels like a ruse a little bit. They have been touting this for how many years of how important it is to recycle, but it becomes too expensive, and it’s no longer important,” said Bannerman.

Bannerman said the end of curbside business recycling leaves her weighing costly private pickup, sending more material to the landfill or trying to store waste longer on a small site. She added that parking is limited in Crystal Beach, and housing large bins on site is not simple.

Because her property is mixed use with the cafe below and her home above, Bannerman said she pays two tax bills totalling close to $6,800 a year, which makes the loss of service harder to accept.

“I feel that to be criminal, that they are taking away our commercial recycling program without any suggested solution,” said Bannerman.

Niagara Region says it cannot continue collecting business recycling on the same trucks as residential recyclables once co-collection is prohibited. The Region estimates about 4,375 non-residential properties across Niagara will be affected and maintaining a separate system could cost up to $3.5 million a year.

Bannerman said the guidance she has heard points businesses to private providers, and that adds a new expense during Crystal Beach’s off-season and at a time when wages and other inflationary costs have climbed.

“So now what I have to do is raise my prices, and who’s gonna love that? Nobody,” said Bannerman.

Bannerman warned that without recycling pickup, she could be forced to put out up to 20 garbage bags a week for landfill. She said she worries added waste at the curb could affect the look of Erie Road in peak season.

“I thought we’re in the business of attracting tourists, not repulsing them,” said Bannerman.

Another challenge is uncertainty about where sorted materials end up once collected, which Bannerman said fuels frustration among owners and staff who have spent years separating items carefully. Businesses are left to guess who will take responsibility, with local governments often pointing to each other and the province when problems land on main streets.

“The Town is going to say it’s the Region, the Region’s going to say it’s the Province, as they keep doing with every issue,” said Bannerman.

One idea Bannerman floated to other owners is a cost-share model among neighbouring businesses on Erie Road, but she said that still requires space for bins and a workable pickup plan.

Niagara Region says it is reviewing whether non-eligible sources may continue to use regional recycling drop-off depots as an interim option and will share details once confirmed.

Local business owners can contact the Region’s waste information line at (905) 356-4141 for updates and support.

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