Let’s talk about the true cost of garbage

Solid waste. Trash. Junk. Rubbish. Waste. No matter what you call, it, household garbage is expensive. In addition to the environmental costs of producing waste, there are financial costs, too.  

When you throw out that bag of garbage, a combination of tax dollars and bag tag fees pay for labour, fuel costs, equipment maintenance, disposal fees and more. Households all have one free bag every week with a fee applicable (the bag tag program) to any additional garbage bags. In the case of garbage bag tags, this year’s $2 per bag tag increase reflects the rising costs the City faces in its Solid Waste division – the first time this fee has changed in more than 20 years.  

The cost to deliver garbage collection service has increased by $700,000 from 2021 (when it cost $4.8 million) to the budgeted amount for 2025 ($5.5 million). The actual landfill costs and fuel surcharges have also increased from $93 per metric tonne in 2021 to $104 in 2024 per metric tonne. The fee increase of the additional garbage bag tags to $4 will help to cover some of the costs, but still leaving a property tax subsidy of $4.4M to support your first free garbage bag. 

We know the increase surprised many people, and we apologize for not sharing this information sooner. If you have bag tags you bought before 2025, you can continue to use a single tag on additional bags.  

Remember, all households can still put out one bag for free, plus your compost bin and unlimited residential recycling . Find ways to reduce your waste (and positively affect climate change) at CityofKingston.ca/Waste