Image by Peggychoucair from Pixabay

The Tilbury Leaf and Yard depot will remain open—for now.

Chatham-Kent administration proposed closing the Tower Street facility a couple of years ago, citing mounting operational pressures and costs. The depot is close to residential properties, making it too loud to grind leaf and yard waste, meaning debris has to be hauled away to be ground up and disposed of.

In online consultation, the public came out strongly in favour of keeping the Tilbury depot open.

The curbside leaf and yard waste collection levels of service will be modified to mandate the use of paper bags, effective January 1, 2025.

This change only applies to the communities that currently receive curbside leaf and yard waste collection, which are Bates Subdivision, Blenheim, Bothwell, Thamesville, Ridgetown, and Tilbury.

All municipal leaf and yard depot operations, curbside leaf and yard waste collection levels of service, and future organic waste diversion programs are scheduled to be reviewed in the future. All services in Chatham-Kent will receive the same service. This may mean reducing existing levels of service in some areas while expanding the service in other areas.